While We're Young

Noah Baumbach
WHITE DRAFT 8-13-13
BLUE REVISIONS 9-16-13
PINK REVISIONS 9-30-13

ii.

SOLNESS:
The funny thing is that I've become so disturbed by younger
people!
What?

HILDE:
Younger people?

SOLNESS:
Yes, they upset me so much that I've sort of closed my doors here
and locked myself in. Because I'm afraid they're going to come
here, and they're going to knock on the door, and then they're
going to break in.
HILDE:
Well, I think maybe you should open the door and let them in.
SOLNESS:
Open the door?
HILDE:
Yes - so that they can just gently and quietly come inside, and it
can be something good for you. . .
SOLNESS:
Open the door?
-- from Wallace Shawn's adaptation of Henrik
Ibsen's "The Master Builder"

We hear an instrumental lullaby version of The Rolling

Stoness song Under My Thumb.
CLOSE on the peaceful face of a sleeping baby, gently
floating.
1

INT. FLETCHER/MARINA APT. - LIVING ROOM, BROOKLYN. DAY

CLOSE on Cornelia Srebnick, 41. Shes humming softly. We

MOVE out slowly to see shes rocking the infant on a big
comfortable couch fionlled with baby blankets, stuffed
animals and childrens books.
We MOVE over to see Josh Srebnick, 44, on the floor watching
her -- his expression a kind of awe. She looks at him,
hesitating, taken by the intensity of his look. A moment of
connection and warmth passes through her.
He smiles softly back.
CORNELIA
(to the baby)
There were three little pigs and they
made a house out of twigs and the
wolf came and...
(to Josh)
Do you remember how it goes?
JOSH
He blows it down?
The baby starts to fuss.
CORNELIA
Yeah. But, what happens in the
middle?
JOSH
(thinks)
I keep wanting to do this little
piggie went to market but thats with
the toes.
The baby starts to cry.
CORNELIA
The wolf keeps blowing the house in.
The pigs keep making different
houses.
(rocks the baby)
Oh...shh, shh, shh.
The baby is wailing.
panicked.

Cornelia rocks her faster.

She looks

Pink (09/30/2013)

2.

CORNELIA
What the fuck do we do?
Josh doesnt know. Bang, a door opens and a woman comes in
with a boppy strapped around her waist. This is Marina,
30s.
MARINA
Okay, whos ready to eat?
JOSH
Are we taking in or --

MARINA
Whos ready to eat?

She sits down on the couch next to Cornelia, lifts the

sobbing infant from out of Cornelias arms and places it on
the boppy. The babys onesie has an image from The Clashs
first album across the chest. Marina opens her bra and gives
the baby her breast. The baby nurses, stretches and stops
crying.
MARINA
Ha! I love how she stretches...its
just like we do... Its so funny.
It never occurred to me that
stretching is innate.
She stretches, imitating the baby. Cornelia smiles politely.
A curly haired man with glasses, early 40s, enters. Fletcher.
FLETCHER
You want to see it?
Yeah.

JOSH
Fletcher sits near Josh.
FLETCHER
It got infected with staph but its
not the bad staph.
He pushes up his sleeve to reveal a square black and white
tattoo on his bicep.
CORNELIA
What is it?
FLETCHER
Guess.
(to Josh)
You can come closer its not the bad
staph.

*
*

Pink (09/30/2013)
MARINA
I still dont want the baby touching
it.

3.
*

He shoves his shoulder in Joshs face.

JOSH
I cant...tell.
FLETCHER
Its Willows sonogram.
Oh...okay.

JOSH
FLETCHER
I did it for Marina. I was so
fucking proud of her.
MARINA
Why its for me, I still dont
understand.

*
*

JOSH
Where do you even go for a tattoo?
FLETCHER
I asked a guy at work and he told me
where his kids went. Place in
Williamsburg. Where else?
(pause)
You know, she didnt get the
epidurol.
MARINA
Its a mother fucker -- its a ring
of fucking fire -- but it was the
most beautiful experience of my life.
FLETCHER
And I fell in love immediately. A
love Ive never felt. I mean, dont
take that the wrong way, Marina -MARINA
No, I know exactly what you mean.
Its pure.
CORNELIA
(how sweet)
Aww...

*
*

Pink (09/30/2013)

4.
*

MARINA
(cant help herself)
Oh, you guys should do it!
Yeah!

FLETCHER
*

MARINA
Youd make such good parents.
(catching herself)
Im sorry, Im sorry!
CORNELIA
No, its fine. You know, we -She looks at Josh.
We...

JOSH

MARINA
Its just such a game
changer!

We STAY on Josh and Cornelias faces.

FLETCHER (O.S.)
When I saw her, I thought: I know
you.
*

MARINA (O.S.)
Its true, I recognized her
immediately.
FLETCHER (O.S.)
And because Id been reading to her
in the womb, she knew my voice
immediately.
MARINA (O.S.)
Its like in one moment,
everything is different.

FLETCHER (O.S.)
I read her Stephen Kings The
Tommyknockers.

FLETCHER (O.S.)
Its like all the stuff before, fine,
you know, were figuring it out, but
now: Okay, real life. You know?
Josh and Cornelia nod.
A2

EXT. COBBLE HILL STREETS, BROOKLYN. DAY

Cornelia and Josh walk home.

A2

*
*

Pink (09/30/2013)
2

INT. JOSH AND CORNELIAS APARTMENT. DAY

4A.
2

They enter. An open floor-through of a brownstone. The

room, separated by large wooden pocket doors, looks halffinished, framed pictures lean against the wall, projects
undertaken and abandoned. Some nice stuff, a couple of
antique chairs or a table. A water stain untended to on the
ceiling.

5.
CORNELIA
I cant remember Goldilocks either
anymore. The porridge part, but not
what happens.
JOSH
She gets eaten, right?
Does she?

CORNELIA
JOSH
Theres like an oven thats too hot.
Josh shrugs.

Silence.

CORNELIA
You dont want kids, right?
(Josh hesitates)
Because I dont.
(they both hesitate)
Im sorry, I feel so guilty for
saying that. I mean, I did. If wed
had the magic sexy version and one
day suddenly had a baby... But all
those drugs and shots and
miscarriages -- I dont want to do it
again and it not to work.
JOSH
I know.
(beat)
And I like our life as it is.
CORNELIA
(relieved)
Me too.
JOSH
I dont want things to be different
than they are right now.
CORNELIA
I know. I mean, if we wanted to take
off for Paris tomorrow, we could.
JOSH
Yeah, I mean I think it would be hard
to find an affordable fare on such
short notice, but yeah...
CORNELIA
No, I know and I couldnt leave work.

6.
JOSH
If we were going to do it we should
plan it at least a month in advance.
CORNELIA
A month is still in the realm of
spontaneity.
JOSH
No, I know. I mean, the time we
spent in Rome, what was that -2006.

CORNELIA
JOSH
(cant believe it)
It wasnt 2006.
CORNELIA
Yeah because I was working with my
dad on his dance film.
JOSH
Rome was eight years ago already?
Shit.
CORNELIA
Yeah, I looked at the pictures
recently and were two younger people
standing at the Treve Fountain.
JOSH
We look similar.
CORNELIA
We look younger.
(pause)
I tried to get you to go to Mexico
last summer -JOSH
I needed to finish my documentary.
CORNELIA
But you didnt finish it!
They both take a deep breath.

Pause.

JOSH
Well, maybe the point is we have the
freedom. What we do with it isnt
that important.

Pink (09/30/2013)

7.

CORNELIA
Marina said they havent had sex in
nearly a year. Fletcher was too
weirded out by the pregnancy.
God.
A3

JOSH
INT. DINING ROOM. NIGHT

A3

They eat Thai take-out at a table set for two.

B3

INT. KITCHEN. NIGHT

B3

They do dishes.
3

INT. JOSH/CORNELIA APT. - BEDROOM, COBBLE HILL, BROOKLYN.

NIGHT

Josh, in his boxers, takes off his watch and puts it on the
night table. Cornelia undresses.
They move about in silence, finishing their nighttime
routines. Only the sounds of footsteps, water running,
clothes coming off and going on, bed squeaks.
Josh lies on his back and shuts his eyes.
Cornelia gets in bed and clicks on her bedside lamp which
lights up nearly everything. Josh places his arm over his
eyes.
JOSH
What is that, a seventy-five watt?
She looks under the shade.
CORNELIA
I cant see, its too bright.
JOSH
Its too high a wattage.
CORNELIA
Ill change it tomorrow.
4

INT. JOSH/CORNELIA APT. - HOME OFFICE. DAY

Josh paces
Tim, early
drives. A
gravely on

back and forth in his home-office. His editor,

30s, sits at a desk-top attached to a series of
tousled scholar, Ira Mandelstam, 50s, talks
a TV screen.

8.
SCHOLAR (ON SCREEN)
There was a poll conducted in 1987 in
which people were given a series of
phrases and asked which ones could be
found in the US Constitution -JOSH
Let me see the continuity...
SCHOLAR (ON SCREEN)
One of the phrases that got the
highest percentage of votes was:
From each according to his ability,
to each according to his need.
This, of course, is not to be found
in the Constitution, but is the
famous Communist credo popularized by
Karl Marx.
Josh takes the sheet and holds it about two feet from his
face. He squints.
JOSH
Why do they type this stuff so small?
TIM
I think thats 12 point.
normal.
SCHOLAR (ON SCREEN)
However, when this phrase was
presented to people as a
tenet of Communism, they, of
course, overwhelmingly
rejected it.

Thats

JOSH
That is not 12, thats at
most eight. Look at it, its
tiny.

TIM
We need to cut away from Ira here
because...
We hear a ringing. On the SCREEN: the scholar goes into his
pants pocket and retrieves a cell phone from a few years ago.
Hold on...

SCHOLAR (ON SCREEN)

He looks at it like hes never seen anything like it before.
He puts on reading glasses and very deliberately presses
Talk.
SCHOLAR (ON SCREEN)
Hello?...Evelyn, Im doing an
interview...Did you look in the car?
This is every fucking day, sweety!
(MORE)

9.
SCHOLAR (ON SCREEN) (CONT'D)
I keep telling you: put them on a
fucking chain around your neck!
(mouths to the camera)
Sorry.
(back to the phone)
Sweety, if you dont stop this, Im
going to fucking screa -Tim freezes the image on the screen.
JOSH
We could cut to me asking the
question about hermeneutics?
TIM
We could, but you look like this in
that footage -He shows an image of a younger Josh in a goatee and Jew-fro.
TIM
Its from eight years ago. And the
previous shot of you asking any
relevant questions is this -He pulls up an image of Josh with short hair and his arm in a
sling.
JOSH
Thats from when I fell down the
subway stairs at Grand Army Plaza.
The blizzard of 06? You remember how
icy that was?
We CUT between a series of Joshes from over the years.
Different hair lengths, a beard, a brief moustache, a black
eye.
JOSH
You remember, I was trying my part on
the other side.
Tim doesnt.
JOSH
God, eight years ago.
that long?

Has it been

TIM
Its been ten.
JOSH
(counting in his head,
rationalizing)
(MORE)

10.
JOSH (CONT'D)
Ten this fall. Nine and a half.
Look at my jaw -- I had more baby
fat.
(looks at his reflection
in the computer screen)
Are my eyes getting hollows?
TIM
I dont know.
JOSH
(trying to be positive)
Well...were getting there.
Tim looks at him, totally skeptical.
JOSH
When the rest of the grant money
comes in, well reshoot me asking the
questions along with the trip to
Istanbul.
TIM
Hey, Josh, I hate to bring this up,
but Im gonna need a little money
soon.
JOSH
No, I know, youve been patient. Im
just waiting for the rest of this
last grant money.
But soon?

TIM
JOSH
Yeah, Ill get you.
Goes into his wallet.
JOSH
You need anything now?
He hands Tim a couple of twenties.
JOSH
You know, get Maggie some flowers
or...
TIM
Im going to use it to buy food.
JOSH
Oh, yeah, yeah...good idea.

Blue (09/16/2013)
5

11.
5

INT. NEW SCHOOL AUDITORIUM. LATE DAY

A room with about fifty chairs, about seven of them occupied

by people over 50. Josh stands at a lectern with a lap top.
A blank TV screen behind him.
JOSH
Le documentaire, c'est ce qui arrive
aux autres, la fiction, c'est ce qui
m'arrive moi. Documentary is
about someone else. Fiction is about
me.
(glances out at the small
crowd, having made it
through the French part)
This is a quote from Jean-Luc Godard.
Now, what do we think about this?
Can a documentary be personal?
Documentaries, I want to say to you
today, can and should be about me.
Josh hesitates. A guy in the audience wearing a porkpie hat
is filming him with a portable camera. Josh is momentarily
distracted.
JOSH
Me meaning all of us.
(to the room)
Lights.
(pause)
Frank, can you just hit that switch?
An elderly gentleman obliges.
top.

Josh hits a button on his lap

JOSH
This is an image from -Nothing happens on the screen behind him.
button again. Nothing.

Josh presses the

JOSH
Well...shit...this should be an image
of seal hunting from Nanook of The
North.
CUT TO: Josh collects his things from a chair at the foot of
the stage. A squat woman, 50s, who runs the lecture series,
shrugs and smiles tightly at him.
Sorry.

SQUAT WOMAN

Blue (09/16/2013)
JOSH
(suddenly paranoid)
About what?

11A.

Blue (09/16/2013)

12.

The guy, 25, who was shooting Josh, comes forward. He wears
his mussed hair under his porkpie hat, an old plaid shirt
hanging out over slacks, and beat up boots. This is Jamie.
Hey.

JAMIE
Beautiful class.

JOSH
Oh...thanks. I dont know why the
power point didnt work, but...
JAMIE
I loved what you said about hyperreality. Im Jamie.
JOSH
Josh Srebnick.

JAMIE
This is my wife, Darby.

A girl, 23, in a high waisted dress and lace up boots comes

forward.
DARBY
Hi. Nice to meet you.
interesting.

It was

JOSH
Thanks. Im not sure why the power
point didnt work... How did you get
in here?
JAMIE
Were auditing your class.
JOSH
Its a continuing education class,
you cant audit a continuing
education class.
JAMIE
(shrugs)
Im a fan. And hey, I really loved
your film, Power Elite.
JOSH
(taken aback, cant hide
his pleasure)
Youve seen it? Hey...thanks.
JAMIE
Its everything I aspire to and you
make it look so easy.
JOSH
Do you make documentaries?

Blue (09/16/2013)
JAMIE
I shoot stuff, you know, with
friends, yeah. Nothing like youre
doing.
DARBY
Hes always shooting.
JOSH
Um, dont take this the wrong way,
but how did you see Power Elite?
JAMIE
I found a VHS on Ebay. I paid like
sixty dollars for it. You know what
was great, was that scene with the
dogs around the garbage? How did you
stage that?
JOSH
Oh...those dogs were just there and I
said, Hey shoot those dogs.
(not a great story)
And...we did.
JAMIE
(claps his hands together)
Beautiful.
JOSH
Ive been working on this other one
for...about eight years now but I
think Im zeroing in on it.
JAMIE
Id love to see it.
DARBY
When I was a child my dog was killed
in front of me by two rottweilers.
(she starts to laugh)
I dont know why Im laughing. Its
not funny. I was five. My dad and I
were walking our poodle which I had
named Toto and these two rottweilers
came bounding out of an open gate and
just attacked. My dad flagged down a
passing car and we climbed in the
back and he covered my eyes so I
couldnt see Toto get mauled.
She covers her face, shes still laughing.

13.

14.
JOSH
(hesitates)
Im sorry to hear that.
JAMIE
You want to come get a bite with us?
JOSH
Oh...Im meeting my...wife around the
corner at this Chinese place.
JAMIE
Hey, my wife and I are going to the
same goddamn place!
6

INT. CHINESE RESTAURANT. EVENING

Josh and Cornelia sit next to each other. Josh is in the

middle of talking to Jamie and Darby who face them across the
table.
JOSH
...Ive learned along the way that
you can discover more by not knowing
the answers, by allowing yourself to
be surprised by what you encounter.
Jamie nods with great interest.
JAMIE
Yeah, yeah.
JOSH
Sometimes that means waiting years
for something to happen. I dont
know. I could go on about this stuff
for days.
JAMIE
How did you start out, like who
influenced you?
JOSH
Oh, I steal from everyone, you know,
Maysles, Wiseman, Pennebaker... My
first job out of graduate school was
working for Leslie Breitbart.
JAMIE
(impressed)
Jeez Louise.

15.
JOSH
Thats also incidentally how I met
Cornelia. Hes her dad.
What?!

JAMIE
CORNELIA
This is before they hated each other.
JOSH
We dont hate each other.
produces her dads films.

Cornelia

JAMIE
Hes amazing.
CORNELIA
Yeah, hes kind of annoying me right
now, but...yeah.
JAMIE
Hes a giant. Hes a guy Id love to
meet. Do you also produce Joshs
films?
CORNELIA
No, Josh likes to work alone.
JAMIE
(again with real interest,
to Josh)
Josh, whats your new film about?
JOSH
Well, Im trying to solve the problem
that Eisenstein never solved -- that
is how to make a film that is both
materialist and intellectual at the
same time -Darby gets a text and starts to reply. Jamie yawns openly.
Josh feels hes losing his audience but keeps going.
JOSH
Its about the distinctly American
relationship between biography and
history, theory and method and how
that relates to power and class in our
country, particularly the political,
military and economic elite.
(sensing hes lost them)
Its really about America.

Blue (09/16/2013)

16.

Jamie takes out a pad and pen and scribbles something down.
JAMIE
Eisenstein is astonishing. I just
saw Strike! Im obsessed with Europe
in the 20s, see. The interwar
period, ex-patriots, that sort of
thing.
DARBY
I keep trying to get Jamie to do
something with before and afters.
All humans love before and afters.
Any TV show with before and afters
will succeed.
JAMIE
(smiles broadly)
Before you said that.
(Jamie frowns)
After you said that.
DARBY
(shakes her head)
Fuck you.
He grabs her breast she smacks his hand playfully and returns
to her phone and answers a text. Cornelia tries an
accommodating smile.
CORNELIA
What do you do, Darby?
JAMIE
Darby makes ice cream.
Oh, yeah?

CORNELIA
DARBY
(shrugs, texting)
Yeah, I make ice cream.
JAMIE
I brought it over to the Whole Foods
near us and theyre pumped.
DARBY
Its Jamies idea to sell it, I just
do it because I like it.
CORNELIA
And you guys are married?

Blue (09/16/2013)
They both nod in unison.

16A.

17.
CORNELIA
Thats so nice and old fashioned.
JAMIE
Yeah. We said our vows in an empty
water tower in Harlem.
Oh.

CORNELIA
DARBY
There was a mariachi band and a slip
and slide.
Wow.

JOSH
DARBY
Jamie wanted a big wedding.

JAMIE
It was amazing. Some rituals
exist for a reason, you know.

CORNELIA
(glances at Josh)
Yeah. We did it at city hall.
DARBY
(looking up from a text)
Isaac and Benny are walking the
tracks.
JAMIE
Have you guys done this? We walked
through the subway tunnels on the D
line last week.
JOSH
(as if its commonplace)
No, no, we havent.
DARBY
Theyre at a Bar on Essex.
to come?

You want

JOSH
(to Cornelia)
Oh, do we -- ?
CORNELIA
Its already past our bedtime.
JOSH
(sheepishly)
Yeah, were usually in bed by eleven.

Blue (09/16/2013)

18.

The check is placed on the table. Anticipating some

resistance, Josh puts his hand on the check.
JOSH
Let me get it.
JAMIE
(eagerly)
Thanks.
DARBY
Yeah, thanks.
Joshs hand remains on the check in preparation for it to be
taken from him. Nothing happens.
JOSH
No, yeah, Ill get it.
7

EXT. CHINESE RESTAURANT. EVENING

Jamie and Darby unlock their bikes which are chained to a

street-sign with old-school bike chains. Jamie attaches the
chain to his pants like an accessory.
JAMIE
If youve got any time -- and I know
youre super busy -- Id love to show
you what Im working on.
DARBY
Come by our place this weekend.
(to Cornelia)
I have my fall flavors.
Jamie gives Josh an old Polaroid of himself and writes his
number on it with a sharpie. His handwriting is in all caps,
very precise.
JAMIE
They dont make this film anymore. I
bought four hundred packs before they
discontinued it.
Jamie, without a helmet, hops on his bike which has a
crocheted seat. Darby is still tying her helmet.
JAMIE
Lets go, worm!
(to Josh and Cornelia)
Peace.

Pink (09/30/2013)

19.

DARBY
(to Josh and Cornelia)
Jamie is always moving. I cant leap
as fast as that kid. I dont move as
quickly.
They both pedal into the center of the street. The
streetlight giving them a kind of glow. We MOVE in on Josh
and Cornelia. They dont know what hit them.
JOSH (V.O.)
I like how engaged they are in
everything.
8

INT. JOSH/CORNELIA APT. - BEDROOM. NIGHT

Cornelia is reading on her Kindle.
bathroom doorway.
Mm.

Josh stands in the

CORNELIA
JOSH
Theyre all making things and theyre
so excited for each other. Its
selfless. They were so respectful of
us. I mean, compared to when we go
out with Fletcher and Marina I feel
like were all just talking about
ourselves... They asked questions.
CORNELIA
They didnt ask me any questions.
JOSH
When I was their age I would never
have come up to me like that and
invited me out. I would have been
too scared... Theyre really not
nervous.
CORNELIA
I wish you hadnt told him I work
with my dad.
Why?

JOSH
CORNELIA
I dont know, he seems ambitious.
JOSH
No! I dont think he thinks that
way. Its about process.

Blue (09/16/2013)

20.

CORNELIA
How has he even seen anything of
yours?
JOSH
(like it should be
obvious)
Ebay.
(scanning the room)
I love his shoes. I have some wing
tips here somewhere.
He climbs into bed.
CORNELIA
It was almost like he was studying
you.
JOSH
Can we go to their place this weekend?
CORNELIA
We never see our real friends, why are
we suddenly going to hang out with a
couple of twenty-five year olds.
JOSH
We were just twenty-five. I mean, we
werent, but you know. Itll be fun.
CUT TO: CLOSE on a woman, 25, scrolling through the addresses
on her phone.
GIRL #1
Um, lets see, it would probably
be...Richard Dreyfuss. Hes an old
friend of my parents.
GUY #1
Um, this girl who was a writer on
that show, Medium.
YELLOW BLOCK TEXT on the screen: Whos the most famous person
in your cell phone?
GIRL #2
Doug Liman.
GUY #2
Bill Clinton. But I think its
probably his office.
GUY #3
Patrick Ewings brother.

Carl.

21.
GUY #2
(now on his phone)
Ringing.
(pause)
Yeah, its his office.
GIRL #3
Robert Downey. Senior.
9

INT. JAMIE/DARBY APT, BUSHWICK. DAY

Jamie watches Josh and Cornelia watch the short on his
computer. Theyre both smiling. Darby hovers in the
background, holding a white kitten, shes seen it.
JOSH
Thats really funny.
Yeah.

CORNELIA
I like Robert Downey.

Senior.

JAMIE
Thats the latest anyway. Im also
doing people describing scenes from
movies that they like but havent
seen in a while. Darbys going to do
Rosemarys Baby, see.
Josh and Cornelia look back at Darby.

She obliges:

DARBY
What have you done to its eyes!?
JOSH
(playing along)
He has his fathers eyes.
Cornelia pets the kitten in Darbys arms.
CORNELIA
I want a kitten!
DARBY
Thats Bad Cop. Wheres Good Cop?
A black kitten comes out from under the couch. Darby hands
the white one to Cornelia and gathers the other one.
DARBY
I love these kittens, but I hope they
dont grow up to be assholes because
that can happen.

22.
CORNELIA
This is a great space. You know I
think Ive only been to Williamsburg
once before.
DARBY
This isnt even Williamsburg, its
Bushwick. We were in Williamsburg,
before then Park Slope, now were
here.
(shrugs)
We live where were supposed to live.
She indicates a series of old typewriters.
DARBY
Jamies a collector. My decorating
sensibilities veer towards 4th grade
teacher. I like bulletin boards.
We see the place now. Its old, open, and has the feel of
being haphazardly curated: from the mouse trap stuck to the
molding to the flea market furniture to the VHS tapes of
random movies stacked against the wall. A framed NY Times
front page of the moon landing. A framed Polish poster of
the Bob Dylan doc Dont Look Back. A photo of Darby going
down a slip and slide in her wedding dress.
Josh looks at a stack of records. Velvet Underground, Kinks,
John Coltrane, Suicide, Serge Gainsbourg, Thin Lizzy...
JOSH
This looks like my record collection.
Except mine are CDs. It took me
years to discover this stuff.
Jamie smiles and puts a record on the turntable. A Notorious
B.I.G/Miley Cyrus mash-up. Josh admires a long wooden desk
with a computer and editing equipment.
JOSH
I need to buy a new desk.
JAMIE
You should come with me to the lumber
yard. Well make one.
JOSH
A whole desk?
JAMIE
Its so much cheaper than buying one,
see. And more fun.
(MORE)

23.
JAMIE (CONT'D)
Joshy, dont overpay at some douche
farm like a chump.
A dark haired girl, 26, appears, in underwear and a T-shirt
with the drawing of a gun as if its tucked into her pants.
TIPPER
Darby, can I borrow your bike, Im
going to the deli for Goldfish.
Okay --

DARBY
Tipper lifts her long bare leg and scratches the bottom of
her foot.
JAMIE
Tipper, did you feed Nico?
TIPPER
(disappearing into the
other room)
I forgot.
Off Cornelias perplexed look:
DARBY
(with a hint of disdain)
Thats our roommate, Tipper.
Jamie grabs a bag of bird seed from a counter, he opens a
small door that leads to an outdoor landing. A chicken paces
in a cage. Cornelia hesitates.
CORNELIA
Nicos a chicken.
CUT TO: They sit around a small table.
something in the kitchen.

Darby prepares

JOSH
I have to say I really admire how you
guys are so in the moment and just
enjoying doing and making things.
Its inspiring.
JAMIE
Thanks, Joshy.
JOSH
The people our age are so success and
results oriented, theyve forgotten
about process.

24.
JAMIE
Josh, are you success oriented?
No.

JOSH
Totally.

Josh looks at Cornelia, surprised.

Darby reenters, shaking her head.

CORNELIA
A crash from the kitchen.

DARBY
I feel like there are people who
dont drop things as much as I do.
(to Cornelia)
I dont keep things yar.
JAMIE
Shes a mess. And an ugly eater.
say that with love.

DARBY
(playful)
Fuck you.
Darby places down a home-made container with a hipster cow on
it and four spoons. She and Jamie eat straight from the
container. Josh and Cornelia follow.
DARBY
Its an avocado and almond milk
sorbet. Benny designed the container.
JAMIE
It tastes like that candy that they
sometimes make into pigs or little
fruits.
JOSH
Yeah, its... Shit.

I know that.

CORNELIA
I keep wanting to say baklava, but
thats a Greek dessert.
JAMIE
Right... The almond tasting pigs
and fruits are made of...
Josh pulls out his phone.
JOSH
(realizes, excited)
Ill look it up.

25.
JAMIE
No, thats too easy.
DARBY
Lets try to remember it.
They all sit in silence, racking their brains.
CORNELIA
How long until we decide we dont
know?
JOSH
(re: his phone)
Can I...now?
JAMIE
No, lets just not know what it is.
CUT TO: Technology MONTAGE:
A10

Cornelia reads her Kindle.

on his phone.
B10

A10

INT. JOSH/CORNELIA APT. DAY

Josh watches a Daily Show video

INT. JAMIE/DARBY APT. DAY

B10

Jamie removes a VHS tape of The Howling from a beat up box

and slides it into the VCR.
C10

INT. JOSH/CORNELIA APT. DAY

C10

Josh streams a movie on Apple TV.

D10

INT. JAMIE/DARBY APT. DAY

D10

Darby puts a worn Kris Kristofferson record on a turntable.

She secures old-fashioned headphones to her head.
E10

INT. JOSH/CORNELIA APT. DAY

E10

Cornelia selects a NPR podcast from her iPod mini and puts on
her sleek noise-reduction Bose headphones.
F10

INT. JAMIE/DARBY APT. DAY

F10

Jamie types a letter on an old IBM Selectric typewriter.

G10

INT. JOSH/CORNELIA APT. - LIVING ROOM. DAY

G10

Josh plays a video game on his iPad.

H10

INT. JAMIE/DARBY APT. DAY

H10

Pink (09/30/2013)
The chicken sleeps in his cage.
I10

26.

END MONTAGE.
I10

EXT. BUSHWICK - STREET BEACH. DAY

CUT TO: CLOSE on a text being typed:
Joshy, street beach in effect! get your goddamn self to the bush of
wick for bourbon and ice creeeeem.

CUT TO: CLOSE on a hand receiving the same text.

FLETCHER (V.O.)
We have news!
10

INT. RESTAURANT, SMITH ST. BROOKLYN. LATE DAY

10

Josh sneaks a look at his text, smiles. Fletcher and Marina,

Josh and Cornelia sit at a table at the window. Throughout
the conversation, everyone is dealing with his/her phone.
FLETCHER
I decided, with Marina going back to
work, Im taking a leave of absence
from the firm and am going to take
care of Willow.
Oh...cool.

JOSH
How long?

FLETCHER
Indefinite.
*

MARINA
Its such a load off and Im making
enough -FLETCHER
Yeah, its really just my ego at
stake.
JOSH
Time to rewatch Mr. Mom.

FLETCHER
Already Netflixed it.
some laughs.

MARINA
Were the boring couple with the
baby. What have you guys been doing?
Tell us something fun!
JOSH
Well, we met this interesting couple.
Jamie and Darby. Hes a young
documentarian and she makes ice
cream.

I got
*

Pink (09/30/2013)

27.

CORNELIA
I dont know what to make of them
honestly. I like her.
JOSH
They make everything. Its
infectious. For about twelve hours I
thought I could build my own desk.
CORNELIA
There is something about being around
them that...that energizes you. You
know?
*

MARINA
How old are they?
CORNELIA
(looks to Josh)
I think around 26.

26 or 27.

JOSH

MARINA
Theyre children!
FLETCHER
Nine years ago, they couldnt vote.
CORNELIA
But theyre married.
Why?

FLETCHER
Josh squints at his menu. He picks up a candle and holds it
close to the menu in order to read.
JOSH
You should see this guys record
collection. Its Jay-Z, its Thin
Lizzy, its Mozart. Their taste is
democratic. Its The Goonies and
Citizen Kane. They dont distinguish
between high and low, its wonderful.
FLETCHER
When did The Goonies become a good
movie?
CORNELIA
Its like their apartment is full of
everything we once threw out but it
looks so good the way they have it.

Pink (09/30/2013)

28.

Silence. Josh feels his phone vibrate. He starts texting.

Everyone else takes this opportunity to text as well.
Fletcher looks up.
FLETCHER
(re: texting)
Why is it once one person goes on
their phone everyone else has to.
CORNELIA
(distracted, on her
phone)
I just have a quick thing--

MARINA
(distracted, on her
phone)
Im not on my phone. Im
just... The baby.

FLETCHER
Each of us is so certain that weve
got the most important thing to do
right now...
CORNELIA
(texting)
I know, its rude.
FLETCHER
(texting)
Its not anymore. It used to be but
now its accepted. Its like showing
your ankles in the 1800s.
Josh gets a text.

He lights up.

JOSH
The almond tasting pigs and fruits
are made of...
CLOSE: Marzipan!
He and Cornelia both exclaim, laughing:
Marzipan!
11

JOSH/CORNELIA
EXT. SMITH STREET, BROOKLYN. LATE DAY
Its still light out.

11

They emerge from the restaurant.

JOSH
(to Fletcher and Marina)
You guys want to hit this street
beach with us?

Pink (09/30/2013)
FLETCHER
I dont know what youre saying.
JOSH
Something Jamie and Darby are doing.
FLETCHER
Since when do you guys do two things
in an evening? You never go anywhere.

28A.

Pink (09/30/2013)

29.

JOSH
(defensive)
We go anywhere.
*

MARINA
We have to get back for the
sitter...Scratch that, we want to get
back.
FLETCHER
I hate being away from her!
JOSH
The sitter?
FLETCHER
Yeah!
(beat)
No, Willow.
MARINA
You should see how much he
cries when he has to leave
her.

Its true.

FLETCHER
*

CORNELIA
Oh, weve lost you to the baby!
MARINA
You guys have to come see her
again! Shes already a
different person.
They kiss and hug goodbye.

FLETCHER
Were always home so just
stop by!

They part ways.

CORNELIA
(now to Josh)
We have lost them to the baby.
JOSH
We go anywhere.

Right?

CORNELIA
We never go anywhere.
TIPPER (V.O.)
High kick contest!
12

EXT. BUSHWICK. LATE DAY

CLOSE on an open fire hydrant hemorrhaging water.

12

30.
Tipper, in a a home-made, totally unofficial t-shirt that
says Ive Been To A Lot of Hard Rock Cafes, kicks her leg
high in the air. Guys in vintage plaid shorts and porkpie
hats and beards and bare feet try to kick higher. Most
everyone is filming everyone. Young women in swim suits toss
a beach ball.
Jamie, with an apron that says Kiss the Chef, finishes
kicking and sees Josh and Cornelia approaching. He brightens
and waves.
JAMIE
Whats the rumpus, Srebnicks?
Darby hands Cornelia a pinkish drink in a clear plastic cup.
DARBY
Have you tried this? Someone at
college figured out that if you put
Jolly Ranchers in vodka for twentyfour hours -- its awesome.
(nods to herself)
Some kind of date rape genius.
Cornelia drinks, she nods.
CORNELIA
Id rape me.
DARBY
You want to take a dance class with
me?
Ow fuck!

BENNY (O.S.)
Benny, a bearded white kid in an afro, sits at the curb,
wincing and pulling a piece of glass out of his foot. Jamie
and Josh wade through the bathers to a hibachi grill.
JAMIE
Can I run an idea by you?
JOSH
Sure, what?
JAMIE
Its a project I want to shoot.
Okay.

JOSH

31.
JAMIE
Ive never done Facebook, its not my
thing, see -JOSH
Oh, really? I was against it at
first...but its actually quite a
useful tool. It makes me feel like
Im really connected. And theres
pictures-A beach-ball hits Josh in the head.
JOSH
What the shit? Watch it!
He realizes very quickly that he over-reacted, tries to be a
good sport and tosses the ball back with a forced laugh.
Ha!

JOSH
Back atcha!

JAMIE
Its lame, yeah. Thats why Im
doing this new thing with it: Im
going to start a profile and wait for
people to contact me.
JOSH
Well, that parts normal, thats
Facebook.
Josh is doused with water from some splashing partiers. He
tries to continue unfettered. He wrings out his shirt sleeves.
JAMIE
And whoever the first person is from
my childhood -- someone Im no longer
in touch with -- who contacts
me...instead of responding on
Facebook, see. Im going to go find
them in person. With my camera.
Okay.

JOSH
JAMIE
Like make Facebook real. Its like
you want to talk to me, lets talk.
JOSH
Kind of just like real life?

32.

Exactly.

JAMIE
JOSH
Well, real was there before Facebook.
Right!

JAMIE
JOSH
It sounds interesting.
its enough --

Im not sure

JAMIE
What do you mean?
JOSH
Well, think about what you want to
say. I mean, what are you hoping to
find?
JAMIE
Ill know when I get there. You
said, we should be open to surprises,
right?
JOSH
Its a nice beginning. But it might
not be a full enough meal yet, you
know? Keep digging.
Jamie nods, trying to mask his disappointment.
SCHOLAR (V.O.)
When I criticize quantitative
analysis, its not because statistics
dont tell us anything.
13

INT. IRAS LIVING ROOM. DAY

13

Books and papers and yapping dogs. Tim holds a boom. Josh
looks through the eye piece of a digital camera on a tripod.
Ira, the scholar, older than we saw him on the Avid, now
sports a mostly gray goatee. He has stained khakis, cheap
running sneakers and a band-aid on his forehead.
SCHOLAR
On the contrary, Id say that they
are often very revealing. Indeed,
they are often most revealing when -(pause)
I have to go to the gents.

33.

Okay.

JOSH
The scholar gets up -JOSH/TIM
Wait, wait/Wait!
The scholar is yanked back by the lavaliere mike pinned to
his lapel. Josh and Tim both rush to his aid, unhooking him.
He shuffles to the bathroom and pees with the door open.
JOSH
I guess hes just doing that.
TIM
Yeah. Hey, Josh, hows that grant
money doing?
Josh immediately goes into his wallet.
JOSH
Im expecting an email any day now
which should confirm -Josh offers him a few twenties.
TIM
No, thanks, but the rest of the grant
money is coming, yes?
JOSH
Ye-s. Assuming theyre funded again
for the next calendar year
TIM
What does that mean?
JOSH
I dont know, one of the donors left
his wife and...I dont know -theyre confirming the funding.
TIM
Whyd he leave his wife?
14

EXT. BROOKLYN STREET. DAY

Cornelia carries a grocery bag, she listens to her iPod,
singing aloud. She sees someone off-camera and smiles
broadly.
Hey Fox!

CORNELIA

14

Pink (09/30/2013)

34.

A few feet ahead coming her way: Marina carries Willow in a

Baby Bjorn next to two other younger mothers, early 30s,
holding young children.

MARINA
Hey Foxy Fox!
CORNELIA
I was just going to call you to see
if you wanted to get lunch.
MARINA
Oh, how sweet. This is Pepper and
Elise. This is Cornelia.
Hey.

CORNELIA

PEPPER/ELISE
Hi./Nice to meet you.

MARINA
Were going to a music class.

ELISE
Its really just for the mothers,
they dont do anything yet.
MARINA
Do you want to come?

CORNELIA
Oh...maybe...
MARINA
Come on, then!

Cornelia starts walking with the mothers.

ELISE
How old are your kids?
Mine?

CORNELIA
I dont have any.

ELISE
Oh...I didnt...you were just coming
to hang out. Cool.
MARINA
Its adorable. If you didnt know
better you think theyre having
seizures!

Pink (09/30/2013)
15

35.

INT. MUSIC ROOM. DAY

15

Brightly lit with solid primary colors. A guy, 20s and a

girl, 20s sing a song about trains as mothers and nannies
bounce their babies and sing along. Cornelia, her lap empty,
sits next to Marina, less enthusiastically singing along.
She looks embarrassed and miserable.

Cornelia whispers something in Marinas ear. Marina

protests, but Cornelia is insistent. Cornelia gets up and
winds her way through singing mommies and babies.
16

EXT. BROOKLYN STREET. DAY

16

Cornelia comes out of the building, her breathing raspy and

shallow. She leans against the brick and composes herself.
CORNELIA
Holy shit...
She takes out her phone and dials a number -17

EXT. STREET IN REDHOOK. DAY

Darby and Cornelia walk together.
CORNELIA
I mean, I love her, shes a great
mom, but I always felt like if I had
a baby, the baby would just fold into
to my life. I mean, if you spend all
your time at baby classes, you become
a baby. Its like the mothers are
infantilized. You know?
DARBY
(talking generally)
I know, just like: have a baby.
Youre cool, you know cool people who
have a house and, I dont know, just
have a baby. Youre going to Mexican
food and theres a baby on the floor.
I know.

CORNELIA
Thats how I grew up.

DARBY
I want a baby. Maybe Ill just have
a baby right now.
CORNELIA
You should. You can.

17

Blue (09/16/2013)

36.

DARBY
I like kids who dont speak English.
(pause)
When are you going to have babies?
CORNELIA
(hesitates)
A couple of times I got pregnant but
it didnt happen.
Im sorry.

DARBY
CORNELIA
The longest only went four weeks.
After thirty-five its a shit-show.
Im sorry.
me.

DARBY
You dont have to tell

CORNELIA
No, its okay. Its what happened.
I like telling you.
(smiles, shrugs)
I like our life as it is. I think.
Even if we did have a kid, neither of
us can cook. You cant get baby takeout.
Darby opens a door to a building and they start up a narrow
staircase.
18

INT. HIP HOP CLASS. CONTINUOUS

DARBY
I like how you give Josh a hard time.
CORNELIA
I dont think I give him a hard time.
They enter a dance room filled almost entirely with black,
Filipino and Latina women.
DARBY
It reminds me of my mom.
CORNELIA
How she was with your dad?
DARBY
No, with my brother.
Cornelia frowns.

18

37.
DARBY
Yeah, shed yell at him but iron all
his weird racing T-shirts. I mother
Jamie.
Darby smells her underarms and makes a face.
DARBY
Sorry, I stink.
She changes into a tank-top and baggy track pants.
puts on a leotard.

Cornelia

CORNELIA
What kind of class is this again?
They enter a crowded dance studio.
Hip hop.

DARBY
Tupacs Hit Em Up blasts on and the women start doing 90s
music video dance moves. Cornelia tries to keep up, but
looks less like a fly girl than a farmer doing a hoe-down.
Tupac continues over:
MONTAGE
19

EXT. HAT STORE, BROOKLYN. DAY

Josh and Jamie admire the hats in the window.
an Irish cap. Jamie shakes his head.

20

EXT. SUBWAY TRACKS. DAY

19
Josh points to
20

Jamie, Darby, Cornelia and Josh (in his new porkpie hat which
hell wear from now on) walk along the outdoor tracks. A
train rushes by on another track. Darby squeals with
delight. Jamie whoops. Cornelia and Josh look terrified.
21

EXT. HOUSING PROJECTS, BASKETBALL COURT. DAY

21

Jamie is the only white guy in a pick-up game on an asphalt

court.
22

INT. GYM. DAY

22

Josh runs on a treadmill.

23

INT. JOSH AND CORNELIAS APARTMENT. NIGHT

23

Josh tosses his hat onto a chair. He pulls Cornelias shirt

over her head. She unbuttons his pants. Their open mouths
crash into one another. They make love on the floor.

Blue (09/16/2013)
24

38.
24

INT. BIKE SHOP, BUSHWICK. DAY

Jamie and Josh browse different bikes. Josh checks out an

elaborate ten speed. Jamie shakes his head and points to a
single speed vintage, shitty-looking Raleigh.
25

25

EXT. BUSHWICK STREETS. DAY

Josh, a helmet strapped to his head, and Jamie, helmetless,

ride their bikes. Jamie lifts up his arms, soaking it all
in. Josh tries to do the same. Josh looks suddenly
disconcerted and grabs his side. He slows to a stop as we
CONTINUE with Jamie soaring onward.
26

26

INT. DOCTORS OFFICE. DAY

Josh sits on an examining table.
his legs.

A bald doctor is inspecting

DR. NAGATO
Well, its a just strained muscle.
But the more concerning thing here is
your arthritis.
Arthritis?

JOSH
DR. NAGATO
Yes. You have arthritis in your
knee.
JOSH
Is arthritis a catch-all for some
kind of injury to the -DR. NAGATO
No, arthritis is a degradation of the
joints.
JOSH
I know what traditional arthritis is.
DR. NAGATO
Im not sure what you mean by
traditional, but this is arthritis.
JOSH
Arthritis arthritis?
DR. NAGATO
Yes, I usually just say it once.
At my age?

JOSH

Blue (09/16/2013)

39.

DR. NAGATO
Youre what, 42?
44.

JOSH
DR. NAGATO
Well, it happens at 42 and it happens
at 44.
Uh huh.

JOSH
DR. NAGATO
Im going to get you a prescription
for Paracetamol. Well start there
and see how it progresses, okay?
He hands a prescription sheet to Josh.
foot away and squints.

Josh holds it about a

DR. NAGATO
Have you had your eyes checked
recently?
JOSH
I have genetically great eyes.
DR. NAGATO
(shrugs)
Youre growing up.
27

INT. WILLIAMSBURG RESTAURANT. DAY

27

We start on Jamie yawning open mouthed. We MOVE out to find

Josh in black rimmed glasses and his porkpie hat talking
across the table from him.
JOSH
Its weird...you know, Im at that
age where the things you think are
only going to happen when you get
older are actually happening.
JAMIE
If Im going to be totally honest
with myself, I dont think Im ever
going to die. I know thats crazy.
JOSH
Its crazy.
JAMIE
I think Im pathologically happy.

Blue (09/16/2013)

40.

JOSH
(hesitates)
I mean, Cornelia and I...for a while
the fact that we got married was so
amazing...I mean, we were married!
Now were just married, you know?
Did you feel that way?
JAMIE
Best decision I ever made.
JOSH
(glancing around)
I really like this place.
JAMIE
(excited)
Oh, hey, I got my first response on
Facebook.
Yeah?

JOSH
JAMIE
This guy, Kent Arlington. I havent
seen him since highschool in Santa
Cruz.
JOSH
Did you flesh it out more, the idea?
JAMIE
A little, yeah. Hes living in
Poughkeepsie. Tipper and I will
train it up there and find him.
A shaggy white haired man, late 60s, in a jean jacket and
jeans enters the restaurant.
Shit.
What?

JOSH
JAMIE
JOSH
My father-in-law.
Jamie yanks his head around.
Where?

JAMIE

41.
Breitbart sees Josh and gives a tired smile.
Josh half-rises to shake his hand.

He approaches.

BREITBART
How are you?
JOSH
Good, Leslie, you?
Good.

BREITBART
Gearing up for my memorial.

JOSH
(to Jamie)
Leslie is having a tribute at Lincoln
Center next month.
(to Leslie)
What are you doing here? How do you
even know about this place?
BREITBART
Are you kidding? Ive been coming
here for the speck since it opened.
JOSH
This is Jamie, a friend of mine.
Jamie stands up and shakes Breitbarts hand.
JAMIE
Im sure you hear this all the time,
but both Wedding and Giving Arlo a
Bath changed my life. It made me
want to tell stories in a non-fiction
mode.
Thank you.

BREITBART
JAMIE
Thank you for your films.
BREITBART
(to Josh)
How are the grandkids?
JOSH
Still dont exist.
BREITBART
Youll never regret it.
(beat)
Hows my daughter?

Blue (09/16/2013)

42.

JOSH
How does she seem to you?
BREITBART
I think she seems well.
JOSH
So, why are you asking me?
BREITBART
Cornelia says youre looking for
finishing money.
JOSH
Um...maybe...it depends on this
grant, if this guy leaves his wife or
not...
BREITBART
I met a guy, hedge fund or something
or other, hes looking to put money
in docs. Ill arrange a meeting if
youre interested.
Uh...

JOSH

BREITBART
Dont be proud, Josh. Ill
call you tomorrow with his
number.

JOSH
(defeated)
Okay.
BREITBART
(to Jamie)
Nice to meet you.
He walks to another table in the back and is greeted by
another man in a suit.
JAMIE
Jeez Louise, working with him mustve
been astonishing.
JOSH
Its complicated, I felt I was seen
as his protege and...I married his
daughter, I needed to establish my
own voice. I think he thought I
rejected him, that I was arrogant.
Maybe I was.
Jamie yawns and texts.

Blue (09/16/2013)
JAMIE
But youll take that meeting -JOSH
Probably not.
JAMIE
You have to, Yosh.
money, right?

I mean, moneys

JOSH
Yeah, but I never pitch...I just
dont think in sound-bites...
(musing)
I understand were a culture of soundbites, but -JAMIE
(interrupting)
Ill help you. You know, make it
sound beautiful -- it is beautiful -but beautiful to some suit.
Maybe.

JOSH
Josh looks over at Breitbart chatting with his lunch
companion.
JAMIE
You can totally say No to this, but
would you have any interest in codirecting with me?
JOSH
Oh... No, its your thing, it should
be your thing.
JAMIE
(quickly)
I totally get it, yeah -JOSH
(hesitates)
Yeah...it should be your thing.
Josh puts his hand on the check.
I got it.
Cool.

JOSH
JAMIE

43.

44.
Josh still anticipates some resistance or more appreciation,
something, but gets nothing. He hesitates then throws down
cash.
JOSH
Shall we go?
JAMIE
You go ahead, I gotta take a leak.
They embrace. We MOVE with Josh to the door.
occurs to him. He turns around --

Something

Jamies at Breitbarts table. He gestures animatedly.

Breitbart laughs heartily. Josh watches. Finally, he turns
and exits.
28

INT. JOSH AND CORNELIAS APARTMENT. DAY

Josh is laying random white items of clothing on the bed.
Cornelia practices a hip hop routine.
JOSH
He just offered it to me like it was
nothing. Ive been trained to hoard
credit, these kids are so generous.
I know.

CORNELIA
JOSH
Yeah. What do you mean, you know?
Which part?
CORNELIA
About credit. My dad always said
that about you. You dont
collaborate well.
JOSH
He always said that?
always?

Whats

CORNELIA
I dont know, twice. I wanted to do
that thing about the public school in
the Bronx and you were really excited
about it until I suggested we do it
together and then you kind of dropped
it.
Josh is about to defend himself.

He hesitates.

28

Pink (09/30/2013)
JOSH
Maybe we should have done it.
still could.

45.

We

CORNELIA
The time has past.
JOSH
Im sorry about that. I want to be
better about that stuff.
CORNELIA
(hesitates, touched)
Thanks.
Cornelias phone rings.
her.

She dances over to it.

Josh regards

JOSH
What is that, a hoe-down?
No!

CORNELIA
Its hip-hop.

Cornelia finds her phone.

CORNELIA
(into phone)
Hey Fox!
29

INT. FLETCHER AND MARINAS APARTMENT. INTERCUT

29

*
*

Marina nurses the baby.

MARINA
Fox! Do you guys want to come to the
Connecticut house this weekend?

Josh starts hip hop dancing with Cornelia.

CORNELIA
(laughing)
Connecticut this weekend?
JOSH
(loud whisper)
No, we have the ayawasca.
Fletcher walks by in the background.
FLETCHER
Wheres the cardboard sleeve
for this Wilco CD?

MARINA
Whats on it?

*
*

Pink (09/30/2013)

46.

FLETCHER
The same image thats on the
CD.

MARINA
Why do you need it?
is right here.

FLETCHER
I dont know. It makes it
special.

MARINA
Itll be us and Pepper and
her husband Reade and Elise
and Dwight. And then Willow,
Oscar and Peter who theyre
calling Nemo.

The CD

CORNELIA
Thats a lot of people.
*

MARINA
Well, the last three are infants.
Josh shakes his head, No and dances more vehemently.
CORNELIA
(trying not to laugh)
Oh...you know... Actually, were
doing this ayawasca ceremony with
Jamie and Darby.

MARINA
Whats an ayawasca ceremony?
CORNELIA
I guess...theres a shaman and you
drink this sludgy liquid made from a
Peruvian root and you hallucinate and
vomit up your demons.

MARINA
Oh... Okay. Were just having a
cookout and maybe playing charades
so...
CORNELIA
It sounds great. Just bad timing.
Josh and Cornelia are both laughing now and doing some
combination of hip-hop/hoe-down.

MARINA
(clearly disappointed)
Yeah.
30

INT. VICTORIAN HOUSE, BROOKLYN. NIGHT

30

A circle of kneeling people all dressed in white. Its

whatever white they had available at home so its mismatched,

47.
A tall thin guy, 30s, with pale skin and long black hair
kneels at a make-shift shrine. This is the shaman. In front
of him is an altar decorated with crystals and laminated
cards of St. Francis, Gandhi, Merlin, King Tut.
Josh leans over to Cornelia:
JOSH
How did King Tut become magical all
of a sudden?
Jamie, in a white Puma track-suit, leans forward over a
couple of people on Joshs other side.
JAMIE
Its because they discovered his tomb
in the occult boom of the 20s.
Shhh! from the group.
The shaman pops open what looks like a Coke bottle and pours
a brown sludgy liquid into a shot glass. He says a
benediction. People, in succession, crawl over to him, he
does a blessing of sorts on their forehead and hands them the
glass. They drink and return to their original spots.
We watch as Jamie, Darby, Cornelia and Josh drink the dark
sludge.
Jamie drinks without thought.
Darby does the quotes thing in the air before she drinks.
DARBY
This is our twenties!
CORNELIA
Im forty-one.
Cornelia sips it. She looks up at the shaman who smiles
encouragingly. She downs it and hands it back to him
proudly.
Josh hesitates, looks back at the group. He shrugs and downs
it, a significant portion missing his mouth. He quickly
wipes at his chin and tries to get the spillage back into his
mouth. He licks his fingers and palm and the sides of the
glass then hands the glass back to the shaman, who looks
mildly irritated.
Theyre back in their circle.
whispers:

The woman next to Josh

48.
WOMAN
Supposedly everyone sees Egyptian
imagery.
Oh yeah?

JOSH
WOMAN
I want to clear some father issues.
You?
JOSH
Oh, I dont know.
WOMAN
Its good to have a focus.
JOSH
(thinks about it)
Fear of death? You know, linear time
not being such a big deal.
The lights are lowered. The shamans assistant clears the
air with an eagle feather.
JOSH
(whispers)
Whats the bucket for?
Puking.

WOMAN
People shhh Josh. The shaman goes around the room and
makes a cross on everyones forehead. Josh closes his eyes.
The FOLLOWING is in choppy, almost impressionistic images:
People start to trip.
is dancing.

Darby gets up and joins a couple who

SHAMAN
We are purging dark energies, past
pain.
He plays some bongos and shakes a shaker.
DARBY
(under her breath)
This shaman is kind of a d-bag.
The woman next to Josh grabs a bucket and pukes.
JOSH
Thats my bucket.

49.
WOMAN
Im puking out your shit!
Josh crawls next to Cornelia.
JOSH
I feel it! Oh my God, I see a
fucking pyramid. And a sphinx. Its
true, you see Egyptian shit. Honey,
what are you seeing?
CORNELIA
Im in a deli in Bensonhurst.
JOSH
The serpent, Apep is speaking to me.
Hes saying, go to the cattle of Ra.
The Celestial Cow is waiting.
CORNELIA
Im purchasing a bag of Sun Chips.
CUT TO: Jamie stands with the shaman.
JAMIE
I dont believe in any state
supported art. I think you need to
just do it yourself.
He vomits.
JAMIE
(gargling vomit)
I voted for Romney.
Everyone vomits.

We see this in succession.

SHAMAN
Watch the carpet!
CUT TO: Josh opens his eyes. The room is a blur -- white
figures drifting past. Josh gets up.
Cornelia talks with the shaman in a corner.
over madly. She excuses herself.
JOSH
Maybe dont flirt with the shaman.
CORNELIA
He was telling me about his boat.
Cornelia grows quiet.

Her eyes are glazed.

Josh waves her

50.

What?

JOSH
CORNELIA
I wish youd look at me the way you
look at Jamie and Darby.
JOSH
I look at you that way...
CORNELIA
No, you dont. You used to. When we
first met you were like you are with
them, you wooed me with romantic
emails...
JOSH
Theres no point in us emailing
now...were in the same room all of
the time.
CORNELIA
(hesitates)
I dont want to take away your
enthusiasm for Jamie and Darby, Im
glad you like them so much...I just
wish I could feel that energy from
you once in a while.
CUT TO: Darby leans her head against the wall.
the man next to her.

She talks to

DARBY
I was falling asleep today on the L
train and you know how your brain
gets in these loops? I couldnt
remember the shape of a pineapple:
Are they like pears? No, theyre
like footballs with the ends cut off.
Its hard to call to mind the shapes
of things. Do you find that?
She vomits.
CUT TO:
31

INT. VICTORIAN HOUSE - DARK ROOM. NIGHT

Cornelia wanders into a dark room.
toward her.
CORNELIA
Josh, Im sorry.

She sees Josh coming

31

51.
She embraces him. He holds her. They rock side to side.
Cornelia kisses Josh on the mouth, long and passionate. She
hesitates.
CORNELIA
You taste different.
Cornelia pulls back.
Josh?
Its me.

CORNELIA
JAMIE
CORNELIA
Jamie, shit. I thought you were
Josh. Im so fucked up. Im sorry.
She puts her head on his shoulder.
CORNELIA
Ugh, how embarrassing.
JAMIE
Its okay, worm.
She looks up at him and they kiss again.

She stops.

CORNELIA
Lets never do that again.
She walks away.
CUT TO:
32

INT. VICTORIAN HOUSE - HALLWAY. NIGHT

32

Josh drifts down a hallway. His eyes blinded by drifting

geometric shapes and figures.
JOSH
It stopped working. Cornelia, mine
stopped working anymore!
But Cornelia isnt there.
the wall.

He slips and rights himself with

JOSH
Nothing is happening.
He trips and hits the floor with a thud.
Jamie is picking Josh up --

Blue (09/16/2013)

52.

JAMIE
How you doing, Yosh?
JOSH
Is yours working?
working.

Mine isnt

JAMIE
Mines working.
JOSH
What if I dont find anything out?
He looks at Jamie, tears rolling down his face.
that Jamie is filming him.
JAMIE
Just roll with it.
be fine, see.

He now sees

Youre going to

JOSH
Thanks, Jamie. Youre so kind. And
so generous. Im so proud and
selfish. I want to be generous like
you. I want to help you with your
film. Ill come with you to film the
guy. I dont want credit or
anything, just to help out.
JAMIE
Thanks Joshy, thats beautiful.
JOSH
Before we met, the only two feelings
I had left were...wistful and
disdainful. And being around you...I
see whats possible again. Is that
corny?
JAMIE
Its goddamn corny, Joshy.
JOSH
Yeah, I guess it is. Im a cornball.
(pause)
Ive felt like a failure for years.
I wish Cornelia and I had had kids.
JAMIE
Its not too late, is it?
Josh vomits.

Jamie holds his head while he retches.

Blue (09/16/2013)

Thanks.

53.

JOSH
JAMIE
No problem, Jussle.
Jamie vomits.
33

EXT. VICTORIAN HOUSE - FRONT PORCH. MORNING

33

Cornelia sits on the stairs. She looks exhausted. People on

the street are starting their day, taking kids out, moving
cars.
JOSH (O.S.)
Its still tonight for us, but its
tomorrow for everyone else.
Josh sits beside her.

He looks tired, pale, worse for wear.

JOSH
Lets have kids!
Something.

Or a kid.

CORNELIA
Did the Celestial Cow tell you this?
JOSH
(pause)
Yeah, but that doesnt make it any
less true.
Cornelia picks at the dry skin on her lip.
JOSH
(re: the houses and
pedestrians)
All these people have babies -whats the big deal?
CORNELIA
I thought wed decided... I dont
want this to be every time you take a
hallucinogen you want to have a baby.
JOSH
Not every time.
CORNELIA
We missed our chance. I missed my
chance. Im fine with that.

Pink (09/30/2013)

54.

JOSH
(pause)
The serpent suggested we could adopt.
CORNELIA
He didnt tell me that.
JOSH
You dont want to?
She slowly shakes her head.

Pause.

Josh notices something.

JOSH
Is that the shamans Vespa?
34

34

INT. FLETCHER/MARINAS BUILDING - ELEVATOR. EVE

Josh and Cornelia, dressed casually. She holds a couple of

take-out bags. Another couple, dressed up, stands next to
them holding a bag with a ribbon.
CORNELIA
Hes been cooped up at home with a
baby, and she loves these soup
dumplings. This will be a great
surprise.
JOSH
I havent spoken to Fletcher for a
while. I think hes exhausted.
CORNELIA
(laughs)
Well probably be waking them up!
The doors open.
35

Both couples exit.

INT. FLETCHER/MARINA BUILDING - DOORWAY/LIVING ROOM. EVE

35

Josh and Cornelia approach the apartment. Josh starts to

clock the other couple walking right next to them. They all
reach an apartment door.
Voices and music from inside. Cornelia frowns.
He looks at the other couple who smile.

Josh rings.

Marina opens the door in a party dress, beaming and holding a

white wine. Party guests mingle behind her.
MARINA
(horrified)
Cornelia...Josh.
(welcoming)
Gaby, Mike!

*
*

Pink (09/30/2013)

Hi.

55.

CORNELIA
COUPLE
You look amazing!
The other couple enters the party. Fletcher appears in the
background loudly bantering with another guy.
FLETCHER
...I know! I felt like I was in one
of those sci-fi movies where everyone
is ranked by intellect -His face drops when he sees Josh and Cornelia.
FLETCHER
Oh...fucking shit...
He and Marina come out into the hallway, the door ajar behind
them.

CORNELIA
Did we...I guess youre having a
thing.
MARINA
Uh...yeah. We...
embarrassing.

*
God, this is

CORNELIA
Is it a baby thing or...?
MARINA
No, actually...Willows at my
mothers.
Oh...

CORNELIA
JOSH
We werent invited.
FLETCHER
Well...we didnt think...
MARINA
Oh, God, I dont know what to say...
Another couple appears behind Josh and Cornelia.
COUPLE #2
Hey, girly girl. You look fiiiine!

Pink (09/30/2013)
They kiss and hand Marina a wrapped gift.

56.
*

WOMAN
Hey Cornelia, how are you?
CORNELIA
Fine, Grace, you?
Great.

WOMAN
MARINA
(to the other couple)
Come inside, theres a full bar --

The other couple enters the apartment.

CORNELIA
What is going on?
MARINA
Im sorry...we didnt think youd
want to come or...
Why?

JOSH
MARINA
Well, for one thing these are people
our own age.
CORNELIA
Oh, come on!
FLETCHER
And maybe you have a titseeka
ceremony or something.
JOSH
Ayawasca! It was therapeutic. I
learned some shit. I think Cornelia
did too.
CORNELIA
(awkwardly)
I did too. Learn some shit.
FLETCHER
You guys were wacked out on Peruvian
mescallen, of course youre going to
learn some shit. I went under during
a colonoscopy last week and I learned
some shit.

Pink (09/30/2013)

57.

JOSH
Dont patronize us, man.
FLETCHER
Listen, we dont know how else to say
this, but...were worried about you
guys.
MARINA
Yeah, you know...I mean, its cool
you dont want to have kids -CORNELIA
Dont make this about the baby cult,
Marina. Okay? I dont appreciate
that kind of superior attitude. Its
really ugly.
MARINA
Thats not what Im saying! I cant
help it if I want you to have kids.

FLETCHER
We think you guys would really
benefit from it. Thats all.
CORNELIA
(suddenly emotional)
But you dont realize how
inappropriate it is to say it like
you say it. Not everyone wants a
baby! Not everyone can have one all
the time!
COUPLE (O.S.)
Hi sexy lady!
Yet another couple, Elise and her husband, arrives, kisses
Marina and Fletcher.
MARINA
(smiling hostess)
Elise! Come in! Come in!
They enter.

Marina brings her voice down:

MARINA
Since weve had the baby, I feel you
pulling away, Cornelia. I just do.
CORNELIA
I went to a fucking baby
music class with you! Do you
know how humiliating that is?

FLETCHER
(to Josh)
Whats with the hat?

*
*

*
*

Pink (09/30/2013)

What?

58.

JOSH
FLETCHER
You look like assholes we
went to highschool with who
would cruise by the prom but
not go in.

MARINA
Why is it humiliating?
is my life now!

*
This
*
*

MARINA
(getting emotional)
It can be very isolating and lonely
when you have a kid.
CORNELIA
(re: the crowd inside)
Yeah, I can tell.
FLETCHER
Were old men, Josh.
JOSH
Speak for yourself.

FLETCHER
Youre an old man with a hat.

CORNELIA
(sadly)
Lets go, Josh.
FLETCHER
Stay, youre here...come in.
JOSH
(emphatic)
There is no way were coming in.
CUT TO:
36

INT. FLETCHER/MARINA APT. - LIVING ROOM. EVE

36

Inside the APARTMENT. Josh and Cornelia sit alone by the

window. People are laughing, talking loudly. Cornelia downs
her wine in one. Josh looks furious.
JAMIE (V.O.)
(sings)
Youre playing Nintendo.
37

INT. JAMIES CAR. DAY

37

Jamie drives, Josh next to him. Cornelia, Darby and Tipper,

who wears a T-shirt that reads: Some Crappy Band, are
squeezed in the back. Jamie sings and Tipper responds:

59.
TIPPER
(sings)
Thats not what Im doing, thats
not what Im doing.
JAMIE
Youre surfing the web.

TIPPER
Thats not what Im doing,
thats not what Im doing.

JAMIE
Youre crying your eyes
out.

TIPPER
Thats not what Im doing,
thats not what Im doing.

TIPPER
(she beats the back of
Joshs seat three times)
Im making a sandwich!
Both of them, flush and beaming look around the car.
Nice.

Fun.

JOSH
CORNELIA
(trying to be positive)
Darby grumbles.

She turns to Cornelia.

DARBY
Connecticut has the best thrifting.
Hell drop us off before they do
their filming.
JAMIE
Tipper and I started a band called
Cookie OPuss. Have you seen that on
YouTube?
JOSH
(a bit annoyed)
That was a commercial when I was a
kid.
JAMIE
Its fucking hilarious.
JOSH
(trying to own it)
I know, we used to always do his
voice.
TIPPER
My name is Cookie OPuss!

60.
JOSH
(trying to do it first)
My name is Cookie OPuss.
JAMIE
My name is Cookie OPuss.

Right.

JOSH

JAMIE
Its the name of our band.
38

38

EXT. POUGHKEEPSIE STREET. DAY

Josh films Jamie as he gets out of the car.
house.

Tipper films the

JAMIE
He was this kind of amazing
combination of jock and brain and he
could sing, he was in the acapella
group called the Night Owls. I mean
kind of the perfect guy.
39

39

EXT. CLAPBOARD HOUSE. DAY

The three of them wait at the door. Tipper films.
knocks. A skinny woman in her 30s appears.

Jamie

JAMIE
Hey, I called, my names Jamie, Im a
friend of Kents.
SISTER
Kent isnt here.
JAMIE
Oh...well, will he be back soon?
She shakes her head.
Whats --

She looks over at Tipper whos filming.

SISTER

JAMIE
We went to school together. Its
been a while, but he contacted me
recently on Facebook. It would mean
a lot to me if I could see him.
The sister hesitates.

Shes debating something in her head.

61.
40

40

INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY. DAY

Jamie, Josh and Tipper are led by an orderly down a long
sterile hallway. They reach a set of automatic doors. A
loud buzz.
They go through the doors to another set of doors.
loud buzz. They open.

41

Another
41

INT. HOSPITAL ROOM

Kent, 20s, pale and thin, lies in bed watching a cooking

show. Hes eating ice cream out of a container. Jamie,
Tipper and Josh enter. He looks up as they approach, placing
the ice cream on the bed-side table.
CUT TO: Josh shoots Jamie.
in bed, he talks somberly.

Tipper shoots Kent. Kent sits up

Jamie sits at his bed-side.

KENT
A ceramic platter didnt break and
accidentally cut both my wrists.
No?

JAMIE
KENT
No. Ive been unhappy. I did it to
myself. I cut my wrists.
JAMIE
You broke a ceramic platter and used
the shards to cut your wrists?
Josh starts to say something, he knows where Kents going
with this, but he holds himself back.
KENT
No, there was no ceramic platter.
mean, there is, I had one in mind
when I was telling the story.

JAMIE
But the shards were from the platter?
JOSH
(cant help himself)
What Kent is saying is he imagined an
actual platter to make his story feel
more authentic, but really he just
cut his wrists with what, probably a
razor blade?
Kent and Jamie look over at Josh.

Kent looks annoyed.

Blue (09/16/2013)

62.

KENT
(to Jamie)
Who is he?
CUT TO: Jamie leans in.

Kent seems emotional.

JAMIE
You were the guy, you know. You were
beautiful. I mean you dated Jenny
Pepperdine!
Kent flashes a weary smile.
JAMIE
You know I bought a necklace like the
one you used to wear -KENT
My puka shells?
JAMIE
Yeah. You know, I was going through
a tough time in highschool, my mom
was really sick with ovarian cancer,
I was pretty promiscuous, but I
couldnt love anyone, I had body
issues -We slowly ZOOM in on Jamie as he talks.
Joshs closed eye opens. While keeping the camera trained on
Jamie, he inspects it, bewildered. Hes not pressing
anything. He sees -Jamie holds a small remote in his hand.
himself.

Hes zooming in on

JAMIE
You had written a poem for English,
you were this athlete and you wrote
this beautiful poem. Do you know
what poem Im talking about?
KENT
I wrote a lot of poems.
JAMIE
It was a line, very simple, but
effective, I want to be
unbridgeable. That one line got me
through my mothers illness.

Blue (09/16/2013)

63.

KENT
Yeah? I dont know why I stopped
writing poetry. I stopped doing a
lot of things. Why do we stop doing
things? I guess life happens.
JAMIE
Life is other plans.
Yeah.

KENT
JOSH
(from behind the camera)
Life is what happens when youre
making other plans.
Jamie and Kent both startle and turn to the camera.
KENT
(again annoyed)
Who is he?
DARBY (V.O.)
I keep trying to get people to agree
with me on this: I hate Tipper.
42

42

INT. OLD BARN

Antiques and vintage clothing.
a corset.

Darby helps Cornelia lace up

DARBY
She ends every word she can with
ish. I thought she was making fun
of this way of talking until it was
clear that she wasnt.
CORNELIA
She tries too hard.
DARBY
Exactly! But its low-key so you
dont notice it. I shouldnt shittalk Tipper. I have so many things.
CORNELIA
You and Jamie were highschool
sweethearts?
DARBY
No, Jamie was only in Santa Cruz for
a semester.
(MORE)

Blue (09/16/2013)
DARBY (CONT'D)
His dad worked for a medical supply
company that was contracted by the
army and they were never in one place
very long. Jamie can be at home
anywhere.
CORNELIA
Josh is only at home at home.

63A.

64.
The corset is laced. Cornelia turns and looks at herself in
the mirror. Shes horrified.
43

INT. DINER, HUDSON, NY. DAY

43

The four of them and Tipper in a booth. Jamie and Tipper

have just finished telling Darby and Cornelia about the day.
Josh is looking at something on his phone.
TIPPER
He was soulful-ish, you know.
JAMIE
Sister, thats an understatement. You
can tell hes been to some dark
places.
DARBY
(petulant)
We went to some dark places too. I
bought a dress. Cornelia didnt buy
a corset.
JAMIE
(eating)
Mm, this burger is in-cred-ible.
JOSH
(re: his phone)
Holy shit.
CORNELIA
Whats wrong?
JOSH
No...nothing...I just Googled Kent...
(looks up to Jamie)
Did you Google him?
JAMIE
No, I wanted it to be fresh.
JOSH
This...its theres a picture, its
the same guy. He was in Afghanistan.
JAMIE
(surprised)
Really?
JOSH
Yeah...he...this article says he was
part of a massacre in Wanat.
(MORE)

65.
JOSH (CONT'D)
They opened fire on a bus full of
civilians... He then spoke out
publicly about it and then he refused
to fight. He was jailed briefly then
he returned to battle, was injured
and given the Purple Heart.
JAMIE
Youre kidding?
Josh hands Jamie his phone.

Jamie beams.

JAMIE
It says two men in his unit have
killed themselves. Tipper -Tipper gets out the camera and turns it on Josh.
into the lens strangely.

Josh looks

JAMIE
Do it again, what you did.
JOSH
Which part?
JAMIE
The phone, the discovery, everything.
Oh...

JOSH
Josh awkwardly looks at his phone then back up.
them are waiting.

The four of

JOSH
(stilted)
Its the same guy... Is that what I
said? How did I say it?
Jamie yawns, impatiently.

Josh tries again:

JOSH
(acting now)
Its the same guy! Holy shit.
Jamie, take a look at this.
Tipper swings the camera at Jamie.
reacts almost identically.

He grabs Joshs phone and

JAMIE
It says two men in his unit have
killed themselves.

66.
JOSH
(excited, getting the hang
of it)
We have to go back!
Yeah?

JAMIE
JOSH
We have to get him talking about
this. This is the movie! Now its
not just some stupid Facebook thing.
Jamie looks at Josh oddly.

Josh backtracks:

JOSH
Not that that wasnt a good idea too.
But, and I hate this expression, but
you stepped in shit!
(suddenly)
Cornelia!
CORNELIA
(caught off guard)
What?!
Josh kisses her.
JOSH
I dont know!
Jamie digs into his food.
JAMIE
Thank God Ive got you, Joshy! We
did what you said: we didnt know the
answers, we discovered it. I should
get a good book on Afghanistan. And
war in general. I really know so
little about it.
JOSH
(decides to go for it)
You know who you should talk to. Ira
Mandelstam, the guy in my film he
could tell you a lot about war and
the politics of war.
JAMIE
Thats your guy, though, Joshy.
cant take your guy.

Blue (09/16/2013)

67.

JOSH
I dont care. I want to share him
with you.
(to the table)
Look ma, Im sharing!
JAMIE
Jeez Louise, that would be fucking
beautiful.
CORNELIA
(suddenly, caught up in
the whole thing)
You know, if you want help... I
could help or...produce this for
you...
Josh looks at Cornelia, surprised.

He smiles.

CORNELIA
My dads between things now...
JAMIE
Oh, my God. Are you kidding, Id be
so pumped. Thank you, thank you.
Josh keeps smiling.
good.
44

He wants very badly for this to feel

44

INT. SCHOLARS APARTMENT

Ira, the scholar, is talking about the power structure of the

United States. Jamie shoots him. Tipper holds a boom. She
wears a T-shirt that reads in generic lettering: A College I
Didnt Go To. Cornelia stands close by. Josh sits in a
chair in the back, listening through headphones. His eyes
drift away from the scholar and turn inward. He looks almost
afraid.
45

45

INT. SCHOLARS BEDROOM

A mess of books and clothes and dogs and dog beds.
pulls Cornelia inside and shuts the door.
What?

CORNELIA
JOSH
(hushed)
Can I say something Im ashamed of?
Yeah.

CORNELIA

Josh

68.
JOSH
Its not generous. And I probably
dont really mean it.
Okay.

Go.

CORNELIA
JOSH
And I think Jamies great so -Say it!

CORNELIA
JOSH
(snapping)
I cant fucking believe his idiotic
Facebook idea paid off! Its so
fucking stupid! And my thing is a
mess. A total fucking mess.
(pause)
Sorry, I feel bad saying that. But I
also hate the fact hes calling his
band Cookie OPuss.
CORNELIA
Whats wrong with that?
JOSH
Its just some funny old kitschy
thing to him he saw on YouTube. But
that was my commercial. I actually
experienced it. You know?
CORNELIA
I dont know from Cookie Puss.
JOSH
Really? It was for Carvel. Cookie
Puss was the original one but they
did an ice cream cake for Saint
Patricks Day and it was this
floating green Irish cake that said,
My name is Cookie OPuss.
Cornelia is silent.
JOSH
(exhales)
Im being ridiculous.
dont mean any of it.

I probably

CORNELIA
My dad likes to say, The more, the
more.

69.
JOSH
Thats because your dad has
everything. And then he gets more.
(off her look)
No, hes right. Theres enough to go
around for everyone.
Yo, Yosh!
attend!

JAMIE
You got a pitch you got to

She kisses him.

Good luck.
46

CORNELIA
EXT. FINANCIAL DISTRICT. DAY
Jamie walks with Josh through stopped traffic toward the
Goldman Sachs building.
JAMIE
Remember, ask him questions. Youre
interviewing him. Hed be goddamn
lucky to invest in your film.
Okay.

JOSH
JAMIE
And talk about shit he understands,
see. Short and to the point.
A bike messenger swerves by them on the sidewalk.
JAMIE
(suddenly furious)
Ride on the street, man!
(and then back to Josh not
missing a beat)
Psych him up. Talk about money.
Talk about war. Power. Race. Make
it relevant to him.
Right.

JOSH
JAMIE
Be yourself, everyone else is taken.
Jamie straightens Joshs jacket collar.

46

Blue (09/16/2013)

70.

JAMIE
Ira was beautiful today. Im gonna
have a screening of the cut footage
at the apartment on Friday.
JOSH
You cut it already?
two days ago.

We just shot it

JAMIE
I know. I was up all night.
(patting Josh on the back)
Well be okay, Joshy. Dont you
fret.
JOSH
Maybe take a day or two to make sure
you like it.
JAMIE
Or I can take ten years.
Josh hesitates, taken aback.

Jamie laughs.

JAMIE
Im fucking with you, Joshy.
thing is going to be totally
brilliant.

Your

They reach the doorway of the office building. Jamie takes

the big headphones from around his neck and puts them on
Josh. Jamie presses Play. Eye of The Tiger by Survivor.
JOSH
I remember when this song was just
considered bad! But its working.
JAMIE
Remember, hes lucky to have this
opportunity. Youre friggin Josh
Srebnick.
JOSH
My name sounds so much better when
you say it.
47

INT. OFFICE, HEDGE FUND. DAY

47

Josh shakes hands with a bulky fratty looking hedge fund guy,
30s, in a suit. This is Dave.
Josh sits on a couch, Dave in an armchair.
a highball glass.

Dave drinks from

71.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
You see Mad Men?
No.

JOSH
HEDGE FUND DAVE
(waves it off)
Its really apple juice. Nah, its
whiskey. Nah, its not. It is.
He drinks.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
So, tell me more about your project.
JOSH
Well, maybe a good way to start is by
asking you a question.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
Hey, they were all raped when I got
there.
Josh stares at him blankly.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
(re: highball)
This is my second in twenty minutes.
Shoot.
JOSH
Do you know the percentage of African
American adult males currently in jail?
I don't.

HEDGE FUND DAVE

JOSH
Take a guess.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
(playing along but not
really thinking)
Like 60%?
JOSH
Jesus, no!
(pause)
It's over 9%. That's nearly 1 in 10
African American adult males, nearly
a million and half.

72.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
A million and a half is a lot.
JOSH
It's insane, but people don't realize
this. They think because we have a
black president...
HEDGE FUND DAVE
(as if he's helping Josh
out)
So this is about prison. Like a
black Shawshank. But real. A real,
black Shawshank.
JOSH
(thrown)
No, not...no.
(pause and then speaking
quickly)
There's a section, an Entr'acte
really, on the function of race in
the prison industrial complex...
(trying to get back on
track)
But the film is really about how
power in America works... Do you know
the historian, Ira Mandelstam?
Yeah.

HEDGE FUND DAVE

JOSH
(pleased)
Really?
No.

HEDGE FUND DAVE

JOSH
Well, we have over a hundred hours of
interviews with him. Now -HEDGE FUND DAVE
The movies a hundred hours?
JOSH
No, well cut it. Now, this guy,
hes not particularly charismatic,
hes kind of anti-social, maybe
asbergers, but not interesting
asbergers. Hes kind of boring even.
But hes a charismatic thinker.

73.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
How do you show what he thinks?
Cartoons?
JOSH
(what?!)
No, not cartoons.

He says it.

HEDGE FUND DAVE

But hes boring.
JOSH
Well...yes, but like many boring
things, the longer you watch it, it
takes on a different dimension -Josh wipes the sweat that has now accumulated on his face.
Daves glance goes to his Blackberry. He types something
quickly.
Mmm hmm.

HEDGE FUND DAVE

So, whats it about?

JOSH
Its really a very simple idea. The
three sections correspond to the
three nodes of what Mills called the
power elite: the political, military
and economic. But, and this is key,
each part has to interconnect to show
how none of these three nodes
functions without the other.
Dave tries to surreptitiously glance at his Blackberry.
JOSH
Its a linear film of course, but I
imagine it as a kind of hypertext.
To be clear, the film is really about
the working class and, I cant speak
on behalf of the working class. I
cant make their film, of course.
They have to be felt as the
impossible subject of the text.
Through an examination of the power
structure the voice of the working
class has to be revealed in the
margins through its very absence. If
that makes sense.
The phone rings.

Both Dave and Josh look at it.

HEDGE FUND DAVE

Hey, Im suddenly so popular.

74.
JOSH
(barrels on)
But its not even really about the
power structure but about what it
means to make a film about it. Its
about the very possibility of making
this film...Its really about America.
Dave cant help it.

He lunges for the phone.

The sound of KNOCKING.

48

48

INT. BREITBARTS APARTMENT - DOORWAY. DAY

Josh stands in the doorway, he wears his bike helmet and
holds his hat. Breitbart smiles.
BREITBART
I was just working on my speech for my
memorial. Whats on your mind, son?

Josh nervously unstraps his bike helmet and puts on his hat.
An awkward exchange as he has trouble holding both. He
exhales. Breitbart finally accommodates by taking the helmet.
JOSH
Would you watch what I have? I think
Im at a point where I need a new set
of eyes.
BREITBART
Ten years with the same project will
do that to you.
Yeah.

JOSH
BREITBART
(warmly)
Of course Ill watch it.
son.

Come in,
CUT TO:

49

INT. BREITBARTS APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN. DAY

They watch the scholar on Breitbarts new TV. Josh cant
look at the screen, his eyes on are Breitbart.
CUT TO: Josh, still watching Breitbart. The movie ends.
Breitbart nods, shuts off the TV with a remote.
BREITBART
I just got this TV. Its a smart TV.

49

75.
He gets up and stretches, clearly very stiff from sitting for
so long.
BREITBART
Ill put a kettle on.
tea?
Okay.

You want some

JOSH
Breitbart goes to his kitchen.

Josh waits, impatiently.

BREITBART (O.S.)
Well, you have a lot of good material
there.
Uh huh.

JOSH
BREITBART (O.S.)
Lots to think about. I need to
process it.
Uh huh.

JOSH
Breitbart reappears in the kitchen doorway.
BREITBART
Do you need the stuff about Turkish
politics?
JOSH
Yes, because it connects to what hes
saying about the shift in power in the
contemporary global economy. And, of
course, it relates back to the earlier
stuff on the Ottoman Empire.
BREITBART
Right, but it feels like a detour.
What about the lengthy history of the
Triangle Shirtwaste Factory Fire? Do
you need that?
JOSH
The interview with Tillie
Kupferschmidsts great great niece?
Thats the emotional center of the
movie. Thats where things come
together. Without that scene...why
make the film at all?

76.
BREITBART
But its too long.
JOSH
It has to be long. The point is it
makes you uncomfortable.
BREITBART
(gently)
I wasnt uncomfortable, I was bored.
The kettle goes off.
Josh follows him in.

Breitbart goes back into the kitchen.

JOSH
Well, maybe boredom is your defense
from the discomfort.
BREITBART
(growing impatient)
You just showed me a six and a half
hour movie that runs about seven
hours too long. Im trying to help.
JOSH
I understand, I understand. I think I
need to shoot some more interviews -BREITBART
(quickly)
Dont shoot anymore! You have enough.
JOSH
Yeah? I just dont think youre
getting it or maybe theres something
about me or what you saw thats
clouding your judgement.
BREITBART
Im telling you what I really feel.
JOSH
I dont believe it. I think youre
being deliberately critical.
BREITBART
Josh, Im trying to help you.
JOSH
Bullshit! Is it because Cornelia and
I didnt have children?
BREITBART
Oh, come on, Josh.

77.
JOSH
We tried. There were miscarriages.
I had to give her a shot in her ass
every day for three months. Its a
huge fucking needle.
BREITBART
I didnt know you tried so hard. She
didnt tell me. I thought you guys
didnt want kids.
JOSH
We didnt want to hope for something
we probably couldnt have.
(collecting his things)
This was a mistake.
BREITBART
Im sorry you feel that way.
Josh starts for door.
JOSH
I know you think I didnt reach my
potential.
BREITBART
No, son, no I dont think you did.
(beat)
Your first film was so wonderful and
entertaining. We recognized ourselves
in it. This is ungenerous, its like
you took your ball and went home.
JOSH
You know what? Im sorry I didnt
become you.
BREITBART
I dont want you to be me, Josh.
JOSH
Yeah, right.
BREITBART
Ill see you at Thanksgiving.
JOSH
Im not going to eat another fucking
fried turkey FYI.
BREITBART
Then make your own.

Blue (09/16/2013)

78.

Josh slams the door.

50

50

EXT. WEST END AVENUE. DAY

Josh walks up to a sign-post. His chain-link chain has been

severed in half. His bike is gone.
Fuck!
51

JOSH
51

EXT. HOUSING PROJECTS, BASKETBALL COURT. DAY

Jamie aggressively drives to the basket, pulls back and makes

a jump shot over a leaping defender. He fist bumps his
teammates as they hurry back on defense.
Josh watches through a chain link fence.
CUT TO: Jamie, sweating, sees Josh through the fence.
jogs over and they talk through the chain-link.
Yosh!

JAMIE
How did you find me?

JOSH
(sheepishly)
Theres like eight different ways to
find out where you are on the
internet. And also through people we
both know.
Ha!

JAMIE
You want to play?

JOSH
Nah, I dont have the right shoes.
(pause)
Hey, I was thinking...you know how
you asked...maybe, if youre still up
for it, I will co-direct with you...
Jamie hesitates.
JOSH
You know...if thats still cool?
JAMIE
Im not sure, Yoshy, Im...at this
point, Im kind of in it, you know?
JOSH
(his face turning red)
Uh huh.

He

Blue (09/16/2013)
JAMIE
I mean, Im kind of into doing it all
now... I mean...you know?

78A.

79.

Uh huh.

JOSH
JAMIE
I better get back to the game.
see you tonight, yeah?

Ill

JOSH
(quickly)
Yeah.
52

INT. JAMIE AND DARBYS APARTMENT, BUSHWICK. DAY

52

Josh enters -- hes late. The space is packed -- mostly with

a sea of 20-something kids who lie on top of each other on
the floor watching Jamies movie. Tipper, dressed up in a
sort of Mary Jane outfit and horn-rimmed glasses, perched up
on a table, watching very seriously, her arms wrapped around
her long bent legs. Jamie stands in back, he looks nervous.
Darby a few feet away from him is texting. Cornelia waves
from a crowded corner. Josh smiles wearily.
Kent talks soberly on screen.
KENT (ON SCREEN)
In the report it says we followed
procedure. A flashlight, three
flares, and the hand signals...
A quick jerky zoom into Kent, missing his face and then
adjusting to find him. He does the hand signals, punctuating
them with:
KENT (ON SCREEN)
...bum, bum, bum...but thats not how
I remember it. It was sheer fucking
panic when the bus approached the
convoy. We opened fire -Josh moves closer, looking for a place to sit or stand.
steps over a couple lying on the floor.
Ow.

He

BENNY
Those are my fingers.

JOSH
Sorry, sorry.
Josh stops in his tracks. Over on the side, the Moon Landing
headline above his head, stands Breitbart. To his right, the
hedge fund dude, Dave.

Blue (09/16/2013)

80.

A light sweat breaks out on Joshs face. Darby is looking

straight at him. She gives him a sad smile. Josh looks back
at the screen.
CLOSE: Joshs scholar, Ira, talking about the politics of
war.
CUT TO: The movie is over. The mostly 20-something crowd
laughs, drinks beers. Breitbart picks an Oreo from a bowl of
Oreos on a table. Josh pushes through the kids to find
Jamie.
Yoshy!

JAMIE
JOSH
You invited Breitbart?
JAMIE
Yeah, he called me after you
introduced us.
JOSH
He called you?
JAMIE
Yeah...and at our dinner I invited
him to tonight.
JOSH
At our dinner? Dinner with him?
When did you have dinner?
JAMIE
After he called me, he suggested we
get dinner.
JOSH
Uh huh.
(pause)
Whered you go?
JAMIE
This beautiful joint, um, on the
Upper West Side -JOSH
Jackson Hole.
Yeah!

JAMIE
Howd you know?

JOSH
Thats where he goes.

81.
JAMIE
Great burgers. Have you been there?
JOSH
Yes, Ive been there with him a
million times.
JAMIE
Have you gotten the Buffalo burger?
Of course!

JOSH
JAMIE
He dug the footage.
(pause)
Is something wrong?
JOSH
I guess I wish youd asked me before
you just went to him...
JAMIE
Hey, Im sorry. I called him
actually just to ask him a question
about how he shot something and we
just got to talking, see, and he
asked me what I was working on...
JOSH
So you called him?
What?

JAMIE
JOSH
You said he called you.
JAMIE
He called me back, yeah.
JOSH
Does Cornelia know?
Very cool!

HEDGE FUND DAVE (O.S.)

Very cool.

The hedge fund guy, Dave, does a double fist bump with Jamie
which they mime exploding.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
Im proud to be part of it.

Blue (09/16/2013)

82.

JAMIE
Dave, you know Josh.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
(barely looking at Josh)
Nice to meet you.
(to Jamie)
Seriously dude, this movie is killaaahhhh.
(does a little dance)
Were going to Afghanistan, were
going to Afghanistan...
JOSH
(taken aback)
Youre going to Afghanistan?
JAMIE
To interview soldiers in Kents unit.
Weve got a butt-load of work to do
before we go. Im going to need
help.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
Afghanistan, Afghanistan!
Josh starts to retreat into the crowd.
pains him to say this, but:

He hesitates.

It

JOSH
Um, if you have any other editing
work, my guy Tim, is great and could
use some cash.
JAMIE
That would be beautiful.
JOSH
(defeated)
Ill text you his info.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
(to Jamie)
Dude, I want you to meet Diane, shes
a reporter for the Times.
Dave drags Jamie across the room. Darby takes Jamies arm as
he passes, she asks him a question. He replies tersely back.
She walks away, pissed. Dave pulls Jamie onward.
We MOVE in on Josh. Color vanishes from his face as a
terrible sinking feeling enters his body.
Two hands wrap around his neck like choking.

He reacts.

83.
JOSH
Ahh!
Its Cornelia.

She smokes a cigarette.

CORNELIA
Ive been looking for you.
JOSH
Youre smoking?
(re: everything)
Whats going on? This is like a
fucking bad dream. Everyone is here
doing weird shit. Wheres my
highschool algebra teacher, Mr.
Morelli riding a fucking turtle?
Across the room, Breitbart is approached by Dave and Jamie.
CORNELIA
(re: her dad)
I had no idea Dad was coming.
him when I got here.

I saw

JOSH
Are you sure? Are you sure youre
not just saying that?
Yes, Josh!

CORNELIA
Why would I lie to you?

JOSH
Do you think Jamie came to my talk
because he knew I was married to you?
That this was all so he could meet
your dad?
CORNELIA
Josh, you know, the world isnt a
conspiracy against you.
JOSH
You know, fuck you.
Fuck you.
that.

CORNELIA
Dont talk to me like

JOSH
Im saying Fuck you in that way
Jamie and Darby say it where its not
a real Fuck you, its a semi-playful
Fuck you.

84.
CORNELIA
Were not Jamie and Darby. We dont
talk to each other that way. If you
say Fuck you to me it feels like a
real Fuck you.
JOSH
It is real.
Fuck you.
either!

CORNELIA
And not semi-playfully

JOSH
Fuck you. Total real, cutting to the
core: Fuck you.
53

EXT. JAMIE AND DARBYS BUILDING. NIGHT

53

Josh comes outside, furious. Darby is making out with a

Latino guy who looks like a gang member.
Darby?

JOSH
Darby lets go of the guy and looks at Josh.
Hey, sir.

DARBY
JOSH
Are you okay?
DARBY
Shits bad.
(pause)
You want to get some goat?
54

INT. CARIBBEAN RESTAURANT, BUSHWICK. NIGHT

Josh and Darby eat at a table.
DARBY
Crushes fade. Things lose their
luster, you know? Maybe Im just
down on relationships right now.
JOSH
What about Jamie?
DARBY
Jamies in love with Jamie.

54

85.
JOSH
I thought you guys seemed great.
DARBY
You know how no one will ever pick up
just a male hitchhiker? But if its
a couple, you might pull over? Im
the girl so youll pull over and pick
up Jamie.
(pause)
Doing ayawasca I realized I never
forgave my mom for dying and until I
do Ill never have a decent
relationship with a guy.
JOSH
When did she die?
DARBY
When I was in highschool.
ovarian cancer.

She had

JOSH
Im sorry...
(realizing)
Isnt that also how Jamies mom died?
He talks about it in the film.
Darby hesitates.
DARBY
Whyd you let Jamie use your scholar?
JOSH
I was trying out being generous.
Hed do the same for me. Thats how
you guys are.
DARBY
(with sympathy)
Oh, Josh... Youre such a man-fox.
JOSH
A man-fox? I wish it didnt need the
man qualifier?
DARBY
Because youre like a hot dad.
Without children.
Suddenly, she pulls her chair over to him, leans in, and
kisses him on the mouth. He slowly moves away.

86.
JOSH
We shouldnt...
She slides her chair back to her side of the table.
hesitates, embarrassed.

She

DARBY
This is the part where I say, I was
a bet?!
What?

JOSH
DARBY
You know those romantic comedies
where the girl was a bet?
He nods.

She nods too.

DARBY
Yeah. Just because they did, doesnt
mean we have to.
JOSH
What...what do you mean?
DARBY
She never told you? Jamie and
Cornelia made out at the ayawasca.
It was in the Papyrus reeds behind
the pyramids.

Josh looks staggered.

DARBY
Im sorry, I stole one of Tippers
adderalls. You want to go dancing?
JOSH
(now getting angry)
Yeah, Im not going home tonight.
55

INT. AFTER HOURS GAY CLUB. LATE NIGHT

55

Darby dances with Josh amidst muscular shirtless gay men. He

throws himself into it, trying to lose himself completely.
JAMIE (V.O.)
Thanks for meeting me so early.
56

INT. JACKSON HOLE RESTAURANT. MORNING

Jamie sits across from Cornelia.
distracted.

She looks tired and

56

87.
JAMIE
Weve got a butt-load to do. Dave
needs a budget for Afghanistan.
CORNELIA
Im almost finished with it.
JAMIE
Ive been reading a lot about
Afghanistan. Its crazy. You know
no ones ever been able to
successfully occupy Afghanistan.
CORNELIA
(looking at her phone to
see if anyone called)
Yeah...Ive heard that.
JAMIE
I think we got something now.
your help, it can really be
something.
(pause)
Leslies notes were awesome.

With

CORNELIA
Hes smart that way.
JAMIE
And hes really chill to kick it
with.
She hesitates, she wipes a tear from her chin.
CORNELIA
Im sorry. Josh and I had a fight
last night and...he didnt come home.
Cornelia starts to cry.

Jamie hands her a napkin.

JAMIE
Hey, hey, its going to be okay.
Joshy will come back.
CORNELIA
(wipes her face)
Thank you. Im sorry Im like this.
JAMIE
Hey, no worries.
(his eyes avert her)
I was thinking, maybe you and your
dad would want to work on my thing
together.
(MORE)

Blue (09/16/2013)
JAMIE (CONT'D)
He seems to want to get involved.
might be kind of great, right?
A moment, Cornelia studies him.

88.
It

Jamie inspects his fork.

JAMIE
I mean, youre producing, but he
could bless it essentially...
Bless it?

CORNELIA
Like a sneeze?

JAMIE
(smiles)
I was thinking more like the Pope.
CORNELIA
He doesnt do that kind of thing -JAMIE
I think if you asked him, he might.
Cornelia hesitates.

She says, suddenly:

CORNELIA
Did you ever see Power Elite?
Jamie gets up and exchanges his fork with one on another
table.
JAMIE
Whats that?
The corner of Cornelias mouth turns up.
JAMIE
(catching himself)
Joshs movie! Goddamn, yes. I told
him that. I loved that scene with
the dogs.
Jamie returns with the new fork.
CORNELIA
When you went to Joshs class, you
knew Josh and I were married, didnt
you? And that Leslie was my dad.
JAMIE
(hesitates)
Hey, I admire lots of people, I want
lots of things. You know what I
mean. We all want stuff -- it
doesnt mean were douche bags.
(MORE)

Blue (09/16/2013)

89.

JAMIE (CONT'D)
Youre a hip chick. You kissed me,
youre married to my friend, but I
get it -CORNELIA
I thought you were Josh.
JAMIE
The first time.
Cornelia stiffens.
JAMIE
You know, but out of context, if
other people heard about it, it might
be misconstrued.
Cornelia looks out the window.
57

Josh is across the street.

57

EXT. JACKSON HOLE RESTAURANT. MORNING

Cornelia approaches Josh, hes in the same clothes from last

night. Shes furious.
CORNELIA
Where were you last night?
JOSH
I went dancing with Darby at an after
hours gay club.
(angry and suspicious)
Is this some kind of private meeting?
CORNELIA
Did you follow me here?
JOSH
I follow him on Twitter! You cant
lie like we used to lie anymore.
Everything is reported. Nothing is
private.
CORNELIA
Theres nothing going on -JOSH
Dont lie to me. You kissed him.
know all about it.
CORNELIA
I thought he was you, Joshy.

Blue (09/16/2013)
JOSH
Dont call me Joshy!
me Joshy.

You dont call

89A.

90.

Sorry.

CORNELIA
JOSH
Its all a pose...its like he once
saw a sincere person and has been
imitating him ever since! And youre
falling for it.
CORNELIA
(shakes her head)
I didnt even like them! You
convinced me how awesome they were.
JOSH
Theyre entitled little brats.
And dont you see, this is all a
plan. He wants to destroy me.
Jamie appears across the street, he holds a small video
camera. He waves at Josh.
JOSH
Go back inside!
Josh takes off his porkpie hat.
JOSH
You and your father can have him.
You always wanted a more successful
me, so go for it.
CORNELIA
What is wrong with you?
JOSH
I didnt know when we got married
that you also wanted to play kissy
face with the twenty-five year olds.
I didnt know you wouldnt want to
have kids.
CORNELIA
I didnt know it either. I didnt
know youd never finish your movie.
JOSH
Ill finish it!
right.

I want to get it

CORNELIA
Its obsession. Its fear.
know.
(MORE)

I dont

Pink (09/30/2013)

91.

CORNELIA (CONT'D)
Its not really about making
anything. At least Jamie makes
something!
JOSH
Do NOT compare what I do with him.
CORNELIA
Why not? When you felt a part of it,
you loved it.
(Josh says nothing)
And you use your career as an excuse
not to do anything. We dont make
decisions, we dont go on vacations,
we dont have kids.
JOSH
I want a kid.
CORNELIA
You want it now that its impossible.
JOSH
Its not impossible.
CORNELIA
No. Its over. Its done. Im not
putting myself through that anymore.
(indicating her body)
This is closed.
Josh hesitates and then throws his hat into a garbage can.
He starts to walk away. He turns around, retrieves the hat
from the garbage and walks away for real.
58

INT. FLETCHER/MARINA APT. - LIVING ROOM. NIGHT

58

Josh blows into an air mattress.

FLETCHER (O.S.)
Marinas at a work dinner.
Fletcher enters with a couple of old looking sheets. Willow,
the baby, sleeps in a moby wrapped around Fletchers torso.
FLETCHER
Theyre both top-sheets but...you
know...
Thanks.

JOSH

92.
FLETCHER
You might wake up when I come through
here for Willows 2 AM feeding. And
then 5 AM. And then all the other
times she wakes up.
JOSH
Thats okay.
Fletcher pours them both whiskeys. Josh picks up a cardboard
sleeve from a Wilco CD off of a table. He smiles.
JOSH
(re: the baby)
How is she?
FLETCHER
(looks down at her)
Pretty good. Cool baby. To be
honest, though, its a little hard
for me to relate to an infant.
JOSH
It seems kind of cool though.
FLETCHER
Its like the pregnancy
thing. You get so used
a while I just felt, we
dont actually need the

is its own
to it. After
did this, we
baby.

JOSH
(nods)
Im sorry if Ive appeared crazy
or...I dont know...
FLETCHER
Im sorry we didnt invite you to the
party.
JOSH
(shrugs)
I think Ive been jealous of you guys
having a kid...
FLETCHER
You know, before you have a kid,
everyone tells you, Its the best
thing youll ever do. As soon as
you bring that baby back from the
hospital, the same people say, Dont
worry, it gets better. Its like,
what the fuck was that all about
before?

93.
JOSH
Having Willow must have changed your
whole perspective on life.
FLETCHER
(pause)
Not as much as I hoped it would.
(lowering his voice)
I love my kid but Im still the most
important person in my life.
Fletcher winces as he sits in a chair.
FLETCHER
Did I tell you I have a herniated
disk, C5 or some shit... Im getting
an epidurol on Monday.
JOSH
(laughing)
I have arthritis in my knees.
FLETCHER
What the fuck is happening to us?
59

INT. TIMS APARTMENT BUILDING - HALLWAY, BROOKLYN. DAY

59

Josh waits outside an apartment door. A shirtless eight year

old boy opens the door. Josh nods at him.
Tim opens the door further.
JOSH
Hey, man, Im sorry about...not
paying you.
Yeah...

TIM
JOSH
I mean, I hoped the money would come
in... It didnt. I kind of fudged
that.
TIM
I just cant work for nothing, you
know?
The kid shakes Joshs hand.
TIM
But thanks for hooking me up with
Jamie, Ive been freelancing a bit
for him.

94.
JOSH
If youre not too busy there, I want
to hire you back for a couple of
weeks. I can pay you.
TIM
Did the grant money come in?
JOSH
No, I sold all my CDs.
other things.
60

And some

INT. JOSH/CORNELIA APT. - HOME OFFICE. DAY

Tim and Josh sit in front of the screen.
JOSH
Leslie suggested we cut the bit on
Turkish politics, I told him it was
crucial because of -TIM
(immediately)
I think its a good idea.
JOSH
Yeah?
Yeah.

TIM
We got to cut something.

JOSH
(relents)
Okay, lets try it.
Tim puts up an image on the SCREEN.

Its Kent.

TIM
Oh, this is Jamies footage.
was working on... Let me...
He moves to take it down.
Wait -What?

JOSH
TIM
JOSH
Hold on that image of Kent.
Okay.

TIM

Stuff I

60

95.
Tim freezes it.
JOSH
(dramatically)
Blow it up.
TIM
I cant do that on this machine.
Really?

JOSH
TIM
No.
Josh leans in. He squints. His POV: CLOSE on the home-made
ice cream container in Kents hand. The hipster cow.
JOSH
Thats Darbys ice cream.
TIM
It looks like mint of some kind.
JOSH
(distracted)
Its avocado.
Tim unfreezes the image.

We ZOOM in on Jamie.

JAMIE (ON SCREEN)

...my mom was really sick with
ovarian cancer, I was pretty
promiscuous, but I couldnt love
anyone, I had body issues -JOSH
Darby was there before we were.
Dont you see, she brought Kent the
ice cream.
TIM
(confused)
I know Jamies your friend, but to be
honest, hes kind of a prick.
On SCREEN, Jamies open, earnest expression, his eyes watery
and full of emotion.
61

INT. RENTAL CAR. DAY

CLOSE on Josh.

61

His face is intense, his arms grip the wheel.

96.
JOSH
(absent-mindedly singing)
Youre playing Nintendo. Thats not
what Im doing, thats not what Im
fuck-ing doing -He bangs the wheel three times.
JOSH
Im fucking exposing your shit,
mother fuck-ahhhhh --
62

62

EXT. KENTS HOUSE, POUGHKEEPSIE. DAY

Josh rings the bell. The sister appears behind the glass.
She wears a party hat.
Hey.

63

JOSH
Is Kent here?
63

INT. KENTS HOUSE/EXT. BACKYARD. DAY

Josh is lead by Kents sister through the house.
screaming in the backyard.

We hear

JOSH
Is everything okay?
SISTER
My son turns seven today.
JOSH
Oh, happy birthday.
They walk through the small space, stepping over toys and
discarded plates of food and reach a cramped, uncultivated
backyard. Kent, in a top coat and tails is pulling an endless
streamer out of his mouth. The kids scream with delight.
64

64

INT. BREITBARTS APARTMENT. SAME

CLOSE: Cornelia stares intently into her fathers eyes.
Theyre inches apart.
BREITBART
Youre so intense.
CORNELIA
Im focusing.
We see now: Cornelia ties her Dads bow-tie.
concentrated on the action.

Shes very

97.
CORNELIA
(finishing)
There.
Thank you.

BREITBART
He looks at himself in the mirror and approves.
BREITBART
Its been very strange looking back
over my career. How did I accomplish
all of that? If Im honest with
myself: it sometimes took being a
selfish prick. Of course, you cant
say that. In my speech I attribute
it to talent, work and luck. Its
something I dont think your husband
realizes. He still believes the
speeches.
CORNELIA
When I first started dating him, he
reminded me so much of you.
BREITBART
His problem is he wants what I have
but hes not merciless enough to get
it.
CORNELIA
(simply and sadly)
You know I am disappointed in Josh.
On some level I feel like he failed.
But I dont know if I actually feel
that because I feel that or I feel it
because he does. Either way its a
terrible thing to think about your
husband.
BREITBART
You know, Josh told me...
know you miscarried.

I didnt

CORNELIA
A few times. The magic of youth is
that every decision is the right one
and you dont have to make any of
them. The terror of adulthood is
there are limited options and you
have to pick.

98.
BREITBART
Theres no magic in being old. Some
asshole tried to offer me a seat on
the subway yesterday.
She smiles. She takes her phone from her pocket and checks
it. No calls.
BREITBART
You young people are always checking
your devices.
CORNELIA
(embarrassed)
Im sorry...its habit.
65

EXT. KENTS BACKYARD. DAY

65

The kids smash a pinata with a baseball bat.

Josh eats birthday cake off of a Space themed plate. Kent,
still in his magician clothes, does tricks for kids as they
come by.
KENT
I learned magic from a dude, Elvin,
over in Afghanistan. He was shredded
by a land mine.
JOSH
Thats terrible.
KENT
Im more old fashioned in my
approach. I dont lock myself in a
box or anything, its mostly cards
and balls. I learn from YouTube
videos. It keeps me from going out
of my head.
JOSH
Yeah...we need distractions. For me
its the internet. Im trying to go
on less, you know. You know, its
like how many times can I check the
Huffington Post?
Kent does a card trick for some kids.
KID
Its in your other hand!
Kent opens his hand, the card is gone.

99.
KID
How did you fucking do that?
Louis!
Sorry.

SISTER
KID

JOSH
What made you contact Jamie
on Facebook?

Kent looks at Josh strangely.

into his mouth.

Josh shovels a piece of cake

KENT
What do you mean?
JOSH
(clears his throat)
What made you reach out to him?
I didnt.

KENT
He contacted me.

Kent indicates to Josh that he has icing on his face.

wipes at it.
KENT
Other side. I had no idea who he
was.
Really?

JOSH
KENT
He said he lived with Darby and that
wed gone to school in Santa Cruz
together for a short time in the 90s.
A kid hits Josh in the leg with the bat.
Ow!

Fuck!

JOSH
KENT
Louis, dont be a prick!
Sorry.

KID
KENT
(to Josh)
And you, language.

Josh

100.
JOSH
Sorry.
(beat)
But you remembered Darby...
KENT
Darbys been a good friend for years.
Wed Skype sometimes when I was in
Kandahar. The reception was really
shitty though. It would freeze up
all the time.
JOSH
Did she know about...that you were in
the hospital?
Kent hesitates.
KENT
Who are you again?
JOSH
Im Jamies cameraman.
KENT
And why are you asking this stuff?
JOSH
Fact checking the movie?
KENT
Uh huh. Yeah, Darby knew. Darby was
the first person I called. She came
to visit a few times before you guys
arrived.
Some kids knock Kents top hat off and run with it across the
garden.
KENT
Bring that back, you fuckers!
Kent!

SISTER
Sorry.

KENT

JOSH
What did you think when Jamie talked
about Darbys childhood as if it was
his own?
KENT
He said he was playing a part.

101.
JOSH
He said that when?
KENT
He called me a week or so before you
guys came up and filmed me.
Josh reaches into his pocket and takes out a small portable
video camera. He turns it on and shoots Kent.
JOSH
Can you say that again?
66

INT. BREITBARTS APARTMENT. DAY

Cornelia, on her phone, has stepped away from her Dad who
practices his speech in the background. She gets Joshs
voice-mail.
CORNELIA
Josh...its me...again...I just...I
am so sorry...I hope you come to my
Dads thing, hed like it and Id
like it and...Im so sorry for all
the things we said and I said and...I
havent said and...Ive said but
havent said to you. This sounds
cryptic, and maybe insane, but its
not. I just, can you call me back?
Can you come, please?
(beat)
Where are you, Josh?
The doorbell rings.

She brightens.

CORNELIA
Wait! Maybe this is you!
She hangs up and hurries to the door.
I got it!

CORNELIA
She opens the door: a hand extends from behind the wall,
clutching a dozen roses. She is touched:
Josh, I...

CORNELIA
Jamie steps into the door-frame.
JAMIE
Jamie, actually. Dont worry, its
not weird. These are for your dad.

66

102.
Cornelias expression drops.
BREITBART (O.S.)
There he is!
67

EXT. JAMIE AND DARBYS APARTMENT, BUSHWICK. LATE DAY

67

Josh leans on the buzzer.

68

INT. JAMIE AND DARBYS APARTMENT. LATE DAY

Darby opens the door. A duffle bag and suitcase, computer
and cat carrier with mewing cats are at her feet. Josh
enters. Hes sweaty and dirty and angry and out of breath
from the trip.
JOSH
Ive got to talk to Jamie!
DARBY
Hes not here.
JOSH
Are you going somewhere?
DARBY
(embarrassed)
Tampa. If I stay here any longer
Ill girl interrupt.
JOSH
I was just with Kent.
DARBY
(with real feeling)
Oh...Kent...I love Kent...
JOSH
I saw your ice cream in Jamies
video.
Darby nods.

She smiles sadly.

DARBY
Well played, sir.
JOSH
He let me think I was the one who
found out about Kent in Afghanistan.
Why?
DARBY
Jamie doesnt want to disappoint you.
None of us want to disappoint you.
(MORE)

68

103.
DARBY (CONT'D)
Youre such a purist. Jamie would
never have made the movie without
Afghanistan. When I told him about
Kent and the massacre he thought it
would make a good movie. He just had
to figure out how to tell it.
JOSH
But why not tell it honestly?
DARBY
Its more entertaining this way.
(beat)
And now it has a before and after
which, as you know, Americans love.
JOSH
Of course he had body issues, they
were yours.
(off her look)
I dont mean, of course you had body
issues, but...
(pause)
People have to know. He cant get
away with this.
DARBY
Jamie does whatever he wants.
JOSH
This goes against everything he said
he admired in me. The whole
principle of making a doc. Darby,
you dont understand. This is fraud.
Its a big deal. People are jailed
for this kind of thing.
DARBY
I dont like to meddle with people.
If theyre going to change, theyll
change.
JOSH
Where is he?
DARBY
Hes at your father-in-laws tribute.
JOSH
(realizes)
Oh, shit! Thats now! And I
returned the rental car.
(re: his appearance)
Im a mess.

Blue (09/16/2013)

104.

DARBY
I can give you a jacket. And you can
take Jamies roller blades.
Thanks.

JOSH
DARBY
(she goes to retrieve the
items)
You know, me and Jamie always wondered
how are we going to get old and the
answer is: just like everyone else.
69

69

EXT. BUSHWICK STREETS. LATE DAY

Josh, in a thrift store jacket over a hoody, jeans and

sneakers attempts to roller blade, trying to get some
momentum, but he cant really skate. A woman, 50s, on a Citi
Bike whizzes by him. A little kid on a scooter rolls past.
70

70

EXT. LINCOLN CENTER. SAME

Breitbart and Cornelia enter the building among suited

patrons. Photographers shoot Breitbart who wears a suit with
a scarf. Jamie hangs back. Hes more dapper than weve seen
him in a suit and wide colorful tie.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Can we get one with you and your
daughter!
Breitbart takes Cornelias hand. Cameras click.
steps into the shot. More cameras click.

Then Jamie

A photographer leans in to Jamie, holding a pad and pen.

PHOTOGRAPHER
Whats your name?
Me?

JAMIE
Jamie Massey.

71

OMITTED

71

72

INT. LINCOLN CENTER. LATE DAY

72

Tables are set up for a big dinner. Breitbart and Cornelia

take their seats. Dave leans over from an adjacent table and
shakes Breitbarts hand. Jamie plops down next to Cornelia.

Blue (09/16/2013)

104A.

JAMIE
Jeez Louise. Ive never been to a
rat fuck like this. Did you see Lou
Reed?

E73

E73

EXT. BUSHWICK STREETS. LATE DAY

We see Josh appear on the horizon, blading toward us. Hes

getting the hang of it now. We come in CLOSE on his intense,
determined face. He can do this!
D73

D73

INT/EXT. JEFFERSON AVENUE SUBWAY STATION STEPS

Josh, jerkily descends sideways, clutching the railing.

C73

C73

INT. JEFFERSON AVENUE SUBWAY STATION TURNSTILE

Josh rolls through, swiping as the passes.

B73

B73

INT. SUBWAY CAR

Josh stands in his blades holding onto the bar.

A73

A73

EXT. STREETS OUTSIDE LINCOLN CENTER. NIGHT

Josh stands in his blades pushing the walk button.
whizz in front of him.

Cars

Blue (09/16/2013)
73

105.
73

EXT. LINCOLN CENTER. NIGHT

Josh blades across the plaza.

74

74

INT. DINING HALL. NIGHT

Josh enters from the back, disheveled and on his blades.
He rolls to a railing that looks over the reception. The
lights have dimmed and on a screen: A black and white CLIP
from the 60s of a little boy getting a bath.
Josh scans the tables and finds Breitbarts group.
The CLIP ends to applause. Jamie leans over and says
something to Cornelia. She nods. Her gaze goes in Joshs
direction. Josh rolls backward and steps behind the bar.
OLDER PATRON
Can I get a Shirley Temple?
Josh nods and starts to pour her drink.
at him.
BARTENDER
What are you doing, dude?

The bartender stares

Blue (09/16/2013)

106.

JOSH
Can I stand here for a second?
No.

BARTENDER
Josh grabs a bottle of
removes his blades and
gets up from the table
slugs from his whiskey
the hall.
75

whiskey and rolls behind a plant. He

stashes them in the planter. Jamie
and walks toward the rest-rooms. Josh
bottle, and follows along the back of
75

INT. LOBBY

A wide carpeted room with high ceilings. A view of the park.

Jamie looks out the window. Josh appears behind him. Jamie
turns around, startled.
JAMIE
Yoshy!
(beat)
You okay? Is that my jacket?
those my blades?

Are

JOSH
(sarcastic)
Are they? Who knows, maybe theyre
Darbys. Darbys, yours, mine.
Cookie OPuss.
JAMIE
(unfazed by Joshs dig)
Where have you been? Everyones
asking about you.
JOSH
(slugs from the bottle)
I was in Poughkeepsie.
Okay.

JAMIE
Jamie watches Josh for a beat.
JOSH
It seems like you made a whole lot of
stuff up.
Applause from the other room.
JAMIE
I dont want to miss his speech
CUT TO:

107.
76

76

INT. DINING HALL. NIGHT

Breitbart takes the stage.
BREITBART
Ive been thinking of tonight as my
memorial for so long I had completely
forgotten I had to actually be alive
for it.
(laughter)
I was hoping I could just sleep
through it...
CUT TO:

77

77

INT. LOBBY. NIGHT

Josh and Jamie.
JOSH
You know, its your responsibility to
be honest. People are going to
believe it.
JAMIE
I didnt do anything nobody else does -JOSH
(trying to make sense of
that sentence)
I didnt do anything nobody else...
You reveal everything and nothing.
(beat, composes himself)
You said you wanted to be a real
documentarian.
I do.

JAMIE
JOSH
I thought you were about process.
Process and...ice cream. But you
really will do anything to be
successful...
JAMIE
Success isnt my thing, Josh.
yours.
Josh is about respond, he hesitates.

Its

Nods.

108.
JOSH
Yeah, youre right, it is my thing.
I have a fucked up relationship with
success. I want it and I dont have
it. But what you have scares the
shit out of me. Youre not
uncomfortable at all.
JAMIE
Why should I be uncomfortable?
JOSH
See, that I just find weird.
JAMIE
Youre the only person who is weird
about this. I asked you to co-direct -JOSH
Yeah, because you knew Id say, No!
CUT TO:
78

78

INT. DINING HALL. NIGHT

Breitbarts speech.
BREITBART
Now people have criticized me and
some of my colleagues saying that we
were pretending to be objective when
there is no objectivity.
CUT TO:

79

INT. LOBBY. NIGHT

Josh and Jamie.
JAMIE
Jeez, Joshy. Everyone does this kind
of thing.
JOSH
I dont. I dont do something like
this. Im trying to make movies to
figure out the truth.
JAMIE
(incredulous)
Really?

79

109.
JOSH
Yes!
CUT TO:
80

80

INT. DINING HALL. NIGHT

Breitbart.
BREITBART
Okay, we were trying to capture
truth, but the truth of experience,
of being in the moment, of seeing
something as it happens.
CUT TO:

81

81

INT. LOBBY. NIGHT

Josh and Jamie.
JOSH
(sadly)
I do know that documentaries are
over.
JAMIE
Are you kidding?
is doing.

Its what everyone

JOSH
(indicating Breitbart)
His documentaries are over. What
youre doing is something else. If
everyone is filming everything,
whats a documentary anymore? It has
no meaning, its just shit you
recorded! Is that old man talk?
Maybe it is. You kids have been told
you can do anything. You cant.
(beat)
Well, you, Jamie, can, but most
people cant.
Jamie shrugs.

Josh, annoyed, imitates him by shrugging back.

CUT TO:

82

INT. DINING HALL. NIGHT

Breitbart.

82

110.
BREITBART
What we were trying to say as
filmmakers is that what we were
filming was more interesting than we
were...
CUT TO:
83

83

INT. LOBBY. NIGHT

Josh and Jamie.
JOSH
You think everything is out there for
you to have. Its not.
JAMIE
Nobody owns anything. If I hear a
song I like, or a story, its mine.
Its mine to use. Its everybodys.
JOSH
No it isnt! Thats not sharing
Jamie, thats...stealing.
JAMIE
Thats old man talk.
JOSH
I am an old man!
Applause as Breitbart finishes his speech.
turns to Jamie.

Josh, emboldened,

JOSH
I cant let Cornelia and Leslie walk
down this road with you. I want you
to go in there and tell them what
youve done. If you wont, Ill do
it for you.
For a brief moment, Jamies face elicits what looks like
fear. It passes.
Okay.

JAMIE
JOSH
Im sorry, kid. But there are
standards, there are...standards.
INT. DINING HALL. NIGHT

111.
Josh walks with purpose toward the table.
behind him.

Jamie trails

CORNELIA
Josh!
JOSH
Sorry Im late.
(to Breitbart)
Leslie, I caught your speech from the
lobby, though and it was really
inspiring, spot on...
BREITBART
Are you okay, son? Do you want to
sit down?
JOSH
Jamie has something he wants to tell
all of you.
Josh takes a seat and crosses his legs comfortably.
Go ahead.

JOSH
They all look at him and then Jamie blankly.
JAMIE
Not all of the stuff in my movie
happened exactly as I said it did.
(sighs)
I played around with some of the timeline.
BREITBART
Okay.
JAMIE
(humbly)
Yeah...
Yeah?

JOSH
And...

And what?

JAMIE
JOSH
You did a lot more than that, come
on.
Josh stands back up.

He says to the table:

112.
JOSH
He didnt even know Kent. Darby did.
And Darbys mother died of ovarian
cancer. Jamies mom is probably
alive and kicking in Idaho.
He sits back down.
BREITBART
(trying to put an end to
it)
Josh, this is kind of my night -JOSH
You just need to hear this.
JAMIE
Thats basically it.
Josh leaps back up.
JOSH
No, thats not basically it! You
knew that Kent had tried to kill
himself...
Right.
Say it!

JAMIE
JOSH
BREITBART
Josh, come on, let him speak.
JAMIE
The gist is the same. I authored a
bit of how we came to it. I mean,
Im not that good a writer. If I
made it all up, Id be the best
writer in Hollywood and...and Kent
would be Marlon Brando.
Breitbart laughs.

Hedge Fund Dave laughs harder.

JOSH
I never said it was amazing.
said it was faked.
JAMIE
And some of the time-line was
adjusted --

I just

113.
JOSH
Stop with the time-line crap!
Josh pulls out his video camera and gestures with it.
JOSH
Jamie knew that Kent tried to kill
himself. That hed been in
Afghanistan. We didnt just stumble
upon it. It was rigged. Jamie
invented the whole Facebook thing
because he knew it would play better.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
Kent wasnt in Afghanistan?
JOSH
No, Kent was in Afghanistan.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
So, whats the problem?
JOSH
Its...its...the way, the way he
said that he found him is not true.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
Kent served our country, youre being
offensive.
Breitbart looks at Jamie.
BREITBART
Is what Josh is saying true?
JAMIE
Well...I did know, but I dont think
it really matters though, the movies
not about that.
JOSH
Of course it matters.
explain...

Leslie,

BREITBART
I dont know that it matters totally
in this case.
JOSH
(shocked)
What?
Dave leans in from the next table.

114.
HEDGE FUND DAVE
I dont care.
JOSH
(dismissive)
I didnt expect you to care.
(quickly back to Leslie)
Leslie, are you kidding me? You
dont care? You just gave a speech
about authenticity!
HEDGE FUND DAVE
(thinks about it again)
Yeah, I dont care.
BREITBART
I just think the movie works on many
levels, the happenstance of it, to be
honest, I find the least interesting
part.
Josh sputters, practically stomps his foot.
JOSH
I cant believe it! This movie isnt
worth the...RAM...its...stored on.
(pointing at Jamie)
Hes a con artist. Leslie, your
generation of sit-ins and protesters
and...pack rats would be horrified by
this...demon!
BREITBART
Youre hysterical, Josh.
JOSH
(hysterically)
Im not hysterical!
He swings his arm, gesturing, knocking a tray full of food
and glasses out of a waiters arms. It goes crashing to the
ground.
JOSH
Shit, Im sorry, Im sorry.
He helps the waiter pick up the plates. Everyone at the
table waits. Josh finally gets back up.
JOSH
Cornelia...

115.
CORNELIA
I dont know. I think hes an
asshole, but the movies pretty good.
And Im sorry I think that.
Jamie takes a seat and starts eating the dessert that was
placed in front of him.
JOSH
This is so frustrating! Im going to
get no satisfaction here, am I? This
guys just going to win no matter
what.
Everyone at the table stares at Josh.
certainty:

His says with

JOSH
This is not how the world works.
We MOVE in on Josh.

His face fills with emotion.

BREITBART
Why does it have to be one thing or
another? Things change. Different
things matter now.
JOSH
Forget ethics then. What about me?!
You played me. I was played.
JAMIE
(under his breath)
But you acted in it.
JOSH
Only because I thought it was real!
(pause, with genuine
feeling)
I loved you.
JAMIE
I like you too! Were friends.
JOSH
(sadly)
I really believed it.
(his throat full of
sadness)
I was a bet!
BREITBART
Are you okay, son?

Blue (09/16/2013)

116.

Josh wipes his face.

JOSH
Im not crying.

Im not.

Joshs attention goes to a tiny camera in Jamies lap aimed

right at him.
JOSH
Are you filming this?!
BREITBART
Josh, your sleeve is on fire.
Joshs sweatshirt has dipped into the flame of a candle on
the table and is indeed on fire. Jamie stands, grabs a
pitcher of water and douses Josh.
Josh drips, soaked. He shakes his head like a wet dog and,
dejected, moves to leave. He hesitates and turns to Breitbart:
JOSH
I took your note by the way. I cut
the stuff on Turkish politics out of
my film. You were right, I dont
need it.
BREITBART
Im glad to hear that, son.
85

EXT. LINCOLN CENTER

85

CLOSE: Kent, in his magician outfit, speaks to the camera.

DELETE? comes up on the SCREEN. YES is selected. The file
is deleted.
Josh puts the video camera back in his tote. He sits on the
steps with his roller blades and whiskey bottle. Cornelia
arrives. She holds a plate with a napkin covering it. She
hands it to Josh.
CORNELIA
It doesnt matter that its faked.
(Josh nods)
It doesnt matter because its not
about Afghanistan and its not about
Kent its about Jamie.
JOSH
(sighs)
In my head, when I was blading over,
I swept in here and exposed
everything. I was such a hero.

117.
He lifts the napkin on the plate to see a piece of chocolate
cake drizzled with chocolate sauce and a fork.
Thanks.

JOSH
Cornelia takes a swig from the bottle.
CORNELIA
When we first started seeing each
other I was so jealous. I would get
so upset when youd talk to another
girl at a party.
JOSH
I know! I liked that...
CORNELIA
I was so sure youd fall in love with
someone else and leave me.
JOSH
Did you want me to?
CORNELIA
I think I wanted to know that I
wasnt your only option. But you
didnt fall in love with someone
else. Until you did. And then it
was two people.
(beat)
Im so sorry I kissed him. I really
did think it was you at first...then
I kind of kissed him again. I dont
know why I did it. I wanted to like
him as much as you did.
Josh starts to eat the cake.
JOSH
(mouth full)
I wanted so badly...I wanted to be
admired. I wanted a protege.
I know.

CORNELIA
JOSH
He looked at me like I was a real
grown-up person. Someone who has
done things. For the first time in
my life I stopped thinking of myself
as a child imitating an adult.

Blue (09/16/2013)
CORNELIA
You feel that way too?
JOSH
(nods)
Im forty-four and there are things I
will never do. Things I wont have.
(pause)
Whats the opposite of the worlds
your oyster?
Cornelias eyes water.

She nods.

CORNELIA
I think I stopped taking you in.
JOSH
Am I a failure?
CORNELIA
Youve never failed me.
JOSH
But am I a failure?
CORNELIA
I feel like I failed you. I wish we
could go back and meet each other all
over again.
JOSH
Id present myself differently. So I
didnt get your hopes up. Maybe not
use the expression conquer the
world so often.
CORNELIA
You said that a lot.
JOSH
I think its hard for me to have
something be great every day and to
acknowledge it.
(smiles at her)
I have something great every day. If
we were different people, Id ask you
to renew our vows.
CORNELIA
I think its nice to renew vows.
JOSH
Maybe we are different people.

118.

Blue (09/16/2013)

118A.

Silence.
CORNELIA
What are you thinking about?
JOSH
Twenty years ago I was twenty-four.
In twenty years Ill be sixty-four.
BLACK
86

INT. CAR/EXT. JFK AIRPORT. DAY

CLOSE on Willow, a year older, in a car seat.
TITLE: A YEAR LATER

86

Pink (09/30/2013)

119.

Fletcher drives, Marina in the passenger seat. Josh and

Cornelia in the back with Willow. Fletcher pulls up to the
terminal.

MARINA
Call when you get there!
CORNELIA
We will, Fox.
Josh and Cornelia get out of the car and grab the bags from
the trunk. Marina joins them. Fletcher steps out of the
car, but hangs by the door.

MARINA
Youre going to be such great
parents.
FLETCHER
The guy is waving at me, we have to
move, Marina! They changed the
rules.
(to Josh and Cornelia)
See you when you get back.

Marina hugs both of them.

MARINA
Oh, Fox, Im going to cry.
FLETCHER
The cop is coming, Marina!

JOSH
Well be back in a week.

MARINA
Send pictures of the little man!
love you guys.

*
*

We

CORNELIA
We love you too!
JOSH
I love you, Fletcher.
FLETCHER
I love you too but Im not getting
arrested for you. Marina!
87

INT. AIRPORT TERMINAL. DAY

CLOSE: An airplane departure screen.
Haiti.

*
87

JFK to Port-au-Prince,

120.
Josh sits outside the gate, bags at his feet. He plays a
game on his phone. Cornelia sits down next to him with a
stack of magazines. She hands Josh a yogurt.
JOSH
Thanks.
(re: her stack of
magazines)
You really need ten?
CORNELIA
Its three and half hours to Port-auPrince.
Cornelia slides a photo of a Haitian baby out from between
the pages of a hard cover book. She smiles.
CORNELIA
I cant believe it.
JOSH
Me neither.
He takes the photo from her.
opens a magazine.

He gazes happily at it.

She

CORNELIA
Oh...look who it is.
She presents the magazine for Josh to see: CLOSE on a PHOTO
of Jamie at Sundance.
CLOSE on the PULL QUOTE:
Are you a hipster?
Well, Im of a certain age and I wear tight jeans.
CUT TO:
88

INT. HOTEL LOBBY - SUNDANCE

Jamie, in a black trenchcoat and a knit cap, is being
interviewed by a cute interviewer in a parka.
JAMIE
But Im just about out of the coolage demographic.
INTERVIEWER
What happens when you exit the coolage demographic?
Jamie thinks about this.

88

121.
JAMIE
I enter the power-age demographic.
We MOVE down to Jamies lap.
trained on the interviewer.

He holds a small video camera

CUT BACK TO:

89

89

INT. AIRPORT TERMINAL. DAY

Josh hands the magazine back to Cornelia.
CORNELIA
Its out there. The evil is
unleashed.
JOSH
No, you were right, hes not evil.
Hes just young.
CORNELIA
I heard from Darby, she Facebooked
me.
CUT TO:

90

90

EXT. TAMPA ECO PARK. DAY

Darby, her hair in a braid, a name-tag on her shirt which has

a parrot on it, runs a net through mud. A motorboat behind
her.
CORNELIA (V.O.)
Shes an eco-tourguide at a wildlife
refuge.
DARBY
This mud is filled with organisms.
She sticks her hand in the mud and pulls out a worm-like
thing.
DARBY
This is a nudibranch. And if you
keep your eyes peeled you might spot
a gopher tortoise or a woodstork.
CUT BACK TO:
91

INT. AIRPORT TERMINAL. DAY

Josh opens his yogurt.
the container.

He pauses for a moment, looking at

91

122.
CORNELIA
(frowns)
Whats wrong?
JOSH
No. Nothing. Well have a baby
before this yogurt expires.
Cornelia suddenly leans in hard, her face colliding with
Joshs.
JOSH
(laughs)
Oww, your teeth.
They kiss long, intimately.
grinning.

Finally, they release.

Both are

In the row of seats across from them: A mom is going through

her tickets and itinerary. Her toe-headed one year old son
is on his iPhone.
Josh and Cornelia watch the little boy -- his fingers move
quickly, gracefully on the keys. Hes totally immersed in
what hes doing. Nothing else exists. Then he puts it to
his ear.
We CUT TO: BLACK.
As the CREDITS ROLL we
CUT TO:
92

INT. JOSH/CORNELIA APT. DAY

92

A VIDEO IMAGE of Josh. He sits in an armchair looking at the

camera. He consults a piece of loose-leaf paper, and with
Cornelias help from behind the camera, re-asks his ten years-

123.
worth of questions for his documentary.